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Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

Publication  184 

Anthropological  Series  Vol.  XV,  No.  1 


THE   DIAMOND 

A  STUDY  IN  CHINESE  AND  HELLENISTIC  FOLK-LORE 


BY 


Berthold  Laufer 

Curator  of  Anthropology 


DEC  6      1915 


Chicago 
1915 


5.(56 


THE   DIAMOND 

A  Study  in  Chinese  and  Hellenistic  Folk-Lore 

Introductory. —  Of  all  the  wonders  and  treasures  of  the  Hellenistic- 
Roman  Orient,  it  was  the  large  variety  of  beautiful  precious  stones  that 
created  the  most  profound  and  lasting  impression  on  the  minds  of  the 
Chinese.  During  the  time  of  their  early  antiquity  the  number  of  gems 
known  to  them  was  exceedingly  limited,  and  mainly  restricted  to  certain 
untransparent,  colored  stones  fit  for  carving;  while  the  transparent 
jewel  with  its  qualities  of  lustre,  cut,  polished,  and  set  ready  for  wearing, 
was  a  matter  wholly  unknown  to  them.  Only  contact  with  Hellenistic 
civilization  and  with  India  opened  their  eyes  to  this  new  world,  and 
together  with  the  new  commodities  a  stream  of  Occidental  folk-lore 
poured  into  the  valleys  of  China.  That  a  chapter  from  a  series  of 
discussions  devoted  to  Chinese- Hellenistic  relations1  is  taken  up  by  a 
detailed  study  of  the  history  of  the  diamond,  is  chiefly  because  this 
very  subject  affords  a  most  instructive  example  of  the  diffusion  of 
classical  ideas  to  the  Farthest  East.  The  mind  of  the  Chinese  offered 
a  complete  blank  in  this  respect,  being  unacquainted  with  the  diamond, 
and  was  therefore  easily  susceptible  to  the  reception  of  foreign  notions 
along  this  line.2  India  was  the  distributing-centre  of  diamonds  to 
western  Asia,  Hellas  and  Rome,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  south-eastern 

1  Two  other  contributions  along  this  line  have  thus  far  been  published:  The 
Story  of  the  Pinna  and  the  Syrian  Lamb  (Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore,  Vol.  XXVIII, 
1915,  pp.  103-128)  and  Asbestos  and  Salamander  (T'oung  Pao,  1915,  pp.  297-371). 

1  Geerts  (Les  produits  de  la  nature  japonaise  et  chinoise,  p.  201)  stated  in  1878 
that  the  diamond  had  not  yet  been  found  in  China  or  Japan.  Diamonds  have  been 
discovered  in  Shan-tung  Province  only  during  recent  years  (compare  A.  A.  Fauvel, 
Les  diamants  chinois,  Comptes-rendus  Soc.  de  I'industrie  miniire,  1899,  pp.  271-281; 
Chinese  Diamonds,  Mines  and  Minerals,  Vol.  XXIII,  1902-03,  p.  552).  The  late 
F.  H.  Chalfant  (in  the  work  Shantung,  the  Sacred  Province  of  China,  ed.  by 
Forsyth,  p.  346)  gives  this  account:  "Fifty-five  /*  south-east  of  I-chou-fu  he  the 
diamond  fields.  The  stones  are  found  on  the  low  watershed  between  two  streams, 
distributed  through  a  very  shallow  soil  over  a  reddish  sandstone  conglomerate.  A 
determined  effort  was  made  by  the  same  German  company  that  operated  the  gold 
mine  near  I-chou,  to  develop  the  diamond  field,  but  the  enterprise  was  not  a  com- 
mercial success.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  German  experts  that  the  stones  were 
deposited  in  their  present  position  by  the  action  of  water  at  the  time  when,  according 
to  the  theory,  there  was  a  connection  between  the  two  rivers.  It  is  supposed  that 
the  source  of  the  supply  is  somewhere  in  the  mountains  of  M6ng-yin.  Meanwhile, 
diamonds,  some  of  them  of  very  good  quality,  are  constantly  picked  up  at  the  locality 
described  and  occasionally  at  other  points."     The  mines  were  abandoned  by  the 


690750 


6  The  Diamond 

Asia  and  China  on  the  other  hand.  Nevertheless  the  ideas  conceived 
by  the  Chinese  regarding  the  diamond  do  not  coincide  with  those  enter- 
tained in  India,  but  harmonize  with  those  which  we  find  expounded  in 
classical  literature.  This  fact  is  due  to  the  direct  importation  of  dia- 
monds from  the  Hellenistic  Orient  to  China;  but  it  has  been  entirely 
unknown  heretofore,  and  this  is  another  reason  which  will  justify  this 
investigation  now  made  for  the  first  time.  Its  significance  lies  not  only 
in  the  field  of  Chinese  research,  but  in  that  of  classical  archaeology  as 
well.  The  copious  and  reliable  accounts  of  Chinese  authors  advance  our 
knowledge  of  the  subject  to  a  considerable  degree  beyond  the  point 
where  the  classical  writers  leave  us,  and  elucidate  several  problems  as 
yet  unsettled.  It  will  be  seen  on  the  pages  to  follow  that  the  use  of 
the  diamond-point  in  the  ancient  world,  doubted  or  disowned  by  many 
scholars,  now  becomes  a  securely-established  fact,  and  also  that  the 
acquaintance  of  the  ancients  with  the  true  diamond  rises  from  the 
sphere  of  sceptical  speculation  into  a  certain  and  permanent  fact. 
Likewise  the  much-ventilated  question  as  to  whether  the  ancients 
employed  diamond-dust,  and  cut  and  polished  the  diamond,  will  be 
presented  in  a  new  light. 

Legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley. —  The  Liang  se  kung  ki,1  one  of 
the  most  curious  books  of  Chinese  literature,  contains  the  following 
account:    "In  the  period  T'ien-lden  (502-520)  of  the  Liang  dynasty, 

Germans  in  1907,  as  the  diamonds  proved  to  be  of  little  value  for  gems,  while  answer- 
ing well  for  industrial  purposes  (Engineering  and  Mining  Journal,  Vol.  LXXXIV, 
1907,  p.  1 159).  An  anonymous  writer  in  Mines  and  Minerals  (Vol.  XXIII,  1903, 
p.  552)  reports  as  follows  on  Chinese  diamond-digging:  "The  Chinese  procure  the 
diamonds  by  the  following  method:  After  the  summer  rains  which,  according  to 
them,  produce  diamonds  on  the  surface  of  the  soil,  whence  the  uselessness  of  digging 
to  find  them,  they  walk  back  and  forth  over  the  sand  of  the  torrents.  The  fragments 
of  diamonds,  on  account  of  their  sharp  points  and  edges,  penetrate  the  rye  straw  of 
their  sabots  to  the  exclusion  of  other  gravel.  When  they  think  there  is  a  sufficient 
quantity  they  make  a  pile  of  the  sabots  and  burn  them.  The  ashes  are  afterwards 
passed  through  a  sieve  to  separate  the  diamonds.  Those  which  we  saw  were  small, 
varying  from  the  size  of  a  grain  of  millet  to  that  of  a  hemp  seed.  They  are  generally 
of  a  light-yellow  color  like  those  of  the  Cape,  though  there  are  some  perfectly  white. 
When  they  find  them  of  sufficient  size  they  break  them,  as  they  told  us,  in  order  to 
make  drill  points,  for,  not  knowing  how  to  cut  them,  the  Chinese  in  general  do  not 
consider  them  as  precious  stones.  They  prefer  the  jade,  the  amethyst,  the  carnelian, 
and  the  agate.  Only  the  rich  Chinese  of  the  ports  and  of  Peking  have  bought  cut 
diamonds,  imported  from  India  or  Europe,  to  ornament  their  hats  or  their  rings, 
since  the  Dutch  first  brought  them  into  China  in  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
Shan-tung  collectors  sell  them  throughout  China,  and  their  trade  is  of  considerable 
importance."  The  exact  date  of  this  modern  diamond-digging  is  not  known  to  me, 
but  it  seems  not  to  be  earlier  than  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  I  can 
find  no  reference  to  it  in  Chinese  literature. 

1  Or  Liang  se  kung  tse  ki  (see  Bretschneider,  Bot.  Sin.,  pt.  1,  No.  451),  that  is, 
Memoirs  of  the  Four  Worthies  or  Lords  of  the  Liang  Dynasty  (502-556),  who  were 


Legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley  7 

Prince  Kie  of  Shu  (Sze-ch'uan)  paid  a  visit  to  the  Emperor  Wu,1  and, 
in  the  course  of  conversations  which  he  held  with  the  Emperor's  scholars 
on  distant  lands,  told  this  story:  'In  the  west,  arriving  at  the  Mediter- 
ranean,* there  is  in  the  sea  an  island  of  two  hundred  square  miles  {It). 
On  this  island  is  a  large  forest  abundant  in  trees  with  precious  stones, 
and  inhabited  by  over  ten  thousand  families.  These  men  show  great 
ability  in  cleverly  working  gems,8  which  are  named  for  the  country 
Fu-lin  4$,  ^.  In  a  northwesterly  direction  from  the  island  is  a  ra- 
vine hollowed  out  like  a  bowl,  more  than  a  thousand  feet  deep.  They 
throw  flesh  into  this  valley.  Birds  take  it  up  in  their  beaks,  whereupon 
they  drop  the  precious  stones.  The  biggest  of  these  have  a  weight  of 
five  catties.'  There  is  a  saying  that  this  is  the  treasury  of  the  Devaraja 
of  the  Rupadhatu  £^^£."4 

From  several  points  of  view  this  text  is  of  fundamental  importance. 
First  of  all,  it  contains  the  earliest  mention  in  Chinese  records  of  the 
country  Fu-lin,  antedating  our  previous  knowledge  of  it  by  a  century. 

Huei-ch'uang,  Wan-kie,  Wei-t'uan,  and  Chang-ki;  the  work  was  written  by  Chang 
Yue  (667-730),  a  statesman,  poet,  and  painter  of  the  T'ang  period.  The  text  trans- 
lated above  is  given  in  Vu  shu  tsi  ch'ing,  section  on  National  Economy  321,  chapter 
on  Precious  Commodities  (poo  huo);  it  is  reprinted  in  the  writer's  Optical  Lenses 
(Toung  Poo,  1915,  p.  204). 

1  He  was  the  first  emperor  of  the  Liang  dynasty  and  bore  the  name  Siao  Yen;  he 
lived  from  464  to  549. 

1  Literally,  "the  Western  Sea  "  (Si  hai).  Compare  Hirth,  The  Mystery  of  Fu-lin 
II  (Journal  Am.  Or.  Soc,  Vol.  XXXIII,  1913,  p.  195). 

•Literally,  "implements  or  vessels  of  precious  stones"  (poo  k'i),  among  which 
also  antique  intaglios  are  presumably  included. 

*  A  Sanskrit-Buddhist  term  meaning  "the  Celestial  King  of  the  Region  of 
Forms."  Region  of  Forms  is  the  second  of  the  three  Brahmanic  worlds  (trailokya). 
The  detailed  discussion  of  this  subject  on  the  part  of  O.  Franke  (Chinesische  Tem- 
pelinschrift,  Abhandl.  preuss.  Akad.,  1907,  pp.  47-50)  is  especially  worth  reading. 
There  are  four  Celestial  or  Great  Kings  guarding  the  four  quarters  of  the  world, 
each  posted  on  a  side  of  the  world-mountain  Sumeru.  The  one  here  in  question  is 
Kubera  or  Vaicravana,  the  regent  of  the  north  and  God  of  Wealth,  the  ruler  of  the 
aerial  demons,  called  Yaksha.  In  earlier  Buddhist  art  he  is  represented  as  standing 
on  a  Yaksha  (see  the  writer's  Chinese  Clay  Figures,  pp.  297  et  seq.) ;  in  later  art  he 
is  figured  holding  in  his  right  hand  a  standard  and  in  his  left  an  ichneumon  (nakula) 
spitting  jewels  (compare  A.  Foucher,  Bull,  de  I'Ecole  jranqaise,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  655). 
This  animal  is  known  as  the  inveterate  enemy  of  snakes;  and  snakes,  in  Indian  belief, 
are  the  guardians  of  precious  stones  and  other  treasures.  By  devouring  the  snakes, 
the  ichneumon  (or,  to  use  its  Anglo-Indian  name,  mangoose)  appropriates  their 
jewels,  and  has  hence  developed  into  the  attribute  of  Kubera.  The  reference  to  the 
Indian  God  of  Wealth  in  the  above  text  is,  of  course,  not  an  element  inherent  in  the 
story,  as  it  was  transmitted  from  Fu-lin,  but  an  interpolation  of  the  Chinese  author 
prompted  by  a  reflection  regarding  a  tradition  hailing  from  India.  This  Indian  story 
has  been  recorded  by  him  in  another  passage  of  the  same  work,  and  will  be  discussed 
farther  on  (p.  18). 


8  The  Diamond 

Professor  Hirth,  a  lifetime  student  of  the  complex  Fu-lin  problem,1 
encountered  the  first  notices  of  Fu-lin  in  the  Annals  of  the  T'ang 
Dynasty,  and  an  incidental  reference  to  it  in  the  Annals  of  the  Sui 
Dynasty,  written  between  629  and  636,  thus  tracing  the  first  appearance 
of  the  name  to  the  first  half  of  the  seventh  century.  Chavannes2 
called  attention  to  a  text  written  in  607,  in  which  Fu-lin  is  mentioned, 
with  reference  to  a  passage  translated  by  him  from  the  Ts'e  fu  yuan 
kuei,  where  the  name  is  written  in  the  same  manner  as  in  our  text 
above.3  The  latter  distinctly  relates  to  the  period  T'ien-kien  (502-520), 
and,  further,  is  chronologically  determined  through  the  mention  of 
the  Liang  Emperor  Wu.  Accordingly  we  are  here  confronted  with  the 
earliest  allusion  to  the  country  Fu-lin  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 
century.  The  fact  that  the  well-known  Fu-lin  discussed  by  Hirth  and 
Chavannes,  and  no  other,  is  involved  in  this  passage,  is  evidenced  by 
the  very  contents  of  the  text,  which,  as  will  be  demonstrated  presently, 
harbors  a  tradition  emanating  from  the  Hellenistic  Orient.  It  is  notable 
that  our  text  writes  the  second  element  of  the  name  jf$»  instead  of 
$Jl,  as  the  later  documents  do;  it  is  obvious  that  a  popular  inter- 
pretation is  intended  here,  the  "forest"  (Jin)  of  the  jewels  being  read 
into  Fu-lin:  as  if  it  were  "forest  of  Fu."  This  is  not  the  place  to 
revive  the  much-ventilated  question  of  the  etymology  of  this  name, 
or  to  take  sides  with  the  interpretations  proposed  by  Hirth  and  Cha- 
vannes;4 but  brief  reference  should  be  made  to  the  recent  theory  of 
Pelliot,5  according  to  whom  the  word  Fu-lin  is  the  product  of  the 
name  Rom,  prompted  by  a  supposed  intermediary  form  From,  which 
issued  from  Armenian  Hrom  or  Horom  and  Pahlavi  Hrom.  Pelliot 
thinks  also  that  the  name  Fu-lin  appears  in  China  with  certainty 
around  550,  and  that  it  is  possibly  still  older,  which  perfectly  har- 
monizes with  the  result  obtained  from  the  above  text. 

The  story  about  the  capture  of  the  precious  stones  is  almost  enig- 
matical in  its  terse  brevity,  but  it  at  once  becomes  intelligible  if  we 
recognize  it  as  an  abridged  form  of  a  well-known  Western  legend.  The 
oldest  hitherto  accessible  version  of  it  is  contained  in  the  writings  of 

1  In  his  book  China  and  the  Roman  Orient,  and  in  his  studies  The  Mystery  of 
Fu-lin  {Journal  Am.  Or.  Soc,  Vol.  XXX,  1909,  pp.  1-31;  Vol.  XXXIII,  1913, 
pp.  195-208). 

2  T'oung  Pao,  1904,  p.  38. 

8  The  same  mode  of  writing  occurs  in  Yu  yang  tsa  tsu  and  in  a  poem  of  the  T'ang 
Emperor  T'ai-tsung  (see  P'ei  wen  yunfu,  Ch.  27,  p.  25). 

4  The  latter  has  developed  the  conflicting  views  of  both  sides  in  Toung  Pao, 
1913.  P-  798. 

1  Journal  asiatique  (Mars-Avril,  1914),  p.  498. 


Legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley  9 

Epiphanius,  Bishop  of  Constantia  in  Cyprus  (circa  31 5-403). '  In  his 
discourse  on  the  twelve  jewels  forming  the  breastplate  of  the  High 
Priest  of  Jerusalem,  the  following  tale  is  narrated  of  the  hyacinth. 
The  theatre  of  action  is  a  deep  valley  in  a  desert  of  great  Scythia,  entirely 
surrounded  by  rocky  mountains  rising  straight  like  walls;  so  that  from 
their  summits  the  bottom  of  the  valley  is  not  visible,  but  only  a  sullen 
mist  like  chaos.  The  men  despatched  there  in  search  of  those  stones 
by  the  kings,  who  reside  in  the  neighborhood,  slay  sheep,  strip  them 
of  their  skins,  and  fling  them  from  the  rocks  into  the  immense  chaos 
of  the  valley.  The  stones  then  adhere  to  the  flesh  of  the  sheep.  The 
eagles  that  loiter  on  the  cliffs  above  scent  the  flesh,  pounce  down  upon 
it  in  the  valley,  carry  the  carcasses  off  to  devour  them,  and  thus  the 
stones  remain  on  the  top  of  the  mountains.  The  convicts  condemned 
to  gather  the  stones  go  to  the  spots  where  the  flesh  of  the  sheep  has 
been  carried  away  by  the  eagles,  find  and  take  the  stones.  All  these 
stones,  whatever  the  diversity  of  their  color,  are  of  value  as  precious 
stones,  but  have  this  effect:  that,  when  placed  over  a  violent  charcoal 
fire,  they  themselves  are  but  slightly  hurt,  while  the  coal  is  instantly 
extinguished.  This  stone  is  reputed  to  be  useful  to  women  in  aiding 
parturition;  it  is  said  also  to  dispel  phantoms  in  a  similar  manner.2 


1  Epiphanii  opera,  ed.  Dindorf,  Vol.  IV,  p.  190  (Leipzig,  1862).  The  text  in 
question  is  reproduced  also  by  J.  Ruska  (Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  p.  15). 

1  The  notion  that  the  stones  gathered  by  eagles  aid  in  parturition  rests  on  the 
belief  of  the  ancients  that  the  so-called  aetites  or  "eagle-stone,"  found  in  the  nests 
of  eagles,  possesses  remarkable  properties  having  this  effect.  According  to  Pliny  (x, 
3,  §  12;  and  xxxvi,  21,  §  151),  who  distinguishes  four  varieties,  this  stone,  so  to  speak, 
has  the  quality  of  being  pregnant;  for  when  shaken,  another  stone  is  heard  to  rattle 
within,  as  though  it  were  enclosed  in  its  womb.  A  male  and  a  female  stone  are  always 
found  together;  and  without  them,  the  eagles  would  be  unable  to  propagate.  Hence 
the  young  of  the  eagle  are  never  more  than  two  in  number.  Philostratus,  in  his 
Life  of  Apollonius  from  Tyana,  notes  that  the  eagles  never  build  their  nests  without 
first  placing  there  an  eagle-stone  (F.  de  Mely,  Lapidaires  grecs,  p.  27).  This  stone 
is  regarded  as  ferruginous  geodes,  a  globular  mass  of  clay  iron-stone,  which  some- 
times is  hollow,  sometimes  encloses  another  stone  or  a  little  water.  According  to 
the  Physiologus  (xix),  the  parturition-stone  is  found  in  India,  whither  the  female 
vulture  repairs  to  obtain  it.  From  the  Physiologus  the  story  passed  into  the  Arabic 
writers  (J.  Ruska,  Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  p.  165;  Steinbuch  des  Qazwlnl, 
pp.  18,  38;  L.  Leclerc,  Traits  des  simples,  Vol.  I,  pp.  121-123).  O.  Keller  (Tiere 
des  classischen  Altertums,  p.  269)  regards  the  legend  of  the  eagle-stone  as  Egyptian, 
because  it  is  mentioned  by  Horapollo  (n,  49) ;  but  his  work  Hieroglyphica  belongs 
to  the  fourth  century  a.d.,  while  even  Theofhrastus  (De  lapidibus,  5)  speaks  of 
parturient  stones.  It  seems  more  plausible  that,  as  intimated  by  the  Physiologus, 
the  story  hails  from  India.  The  physician  Razi,  who  died  in  923  or  932,  observes 
(Leclerc,  /.  c.)  that  he  encountered  in  some  books  of  India  the  statement  that  a 
woman  is  easily  delivered  when  the  stone  is  placed  on  her  abdomen.  Regarding 
similar  notions  in  China  compare  F.  de  Mely,  L'alchimie  chez  les  Chinois  (Journal 
asiatique,  1895,  Sept.-Oct.,  p.  336)  and  Lapidaires  chinois,  p.  lxiii. 


io  The  Diamond 

The  coincidence  of  this  tale  with  our  Chinese  text  is  striking,  the 
chief  points  —  the  deep  valley,  the  flesh  thrown  down  as  bait,  the 
birds  bringing  up  the  stones  with  it  —  being  identical.  The  coincidence 
is  the  more  remarkable,  as  the  subsequent  additional  features  with 
which  the  legend  has  been  embellished  in  the  West  are  lacking  in  the 
Chinese  version.  For  this  reason  the  conclusion  is  justified  that  the 
latter,  directly  traceable  to  a  version  of  the  type  of  Epiphanius,  was 
transmitted  straightway  to  China,  as  revealed  by  the  very  words  of 
the  Chinese  account,  from  Fu-lin,  a  part  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

In  the  second  oldest  Western  version  we  encounter  two  new  ele- 
ments,—  Alexander  the  Great  and  snakes  guarding  the  stones.  The 
oldest  Arabic  work  on  mineralogy,  wrongly  connected  with  the  name  of 
Aristotle  and  composed  before  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century,  has 
the  following  under  the  "diamond:"1  "Nobody  but  my  disciple 
Alexander  reached  the  valley  in  which  diamonds  are  found.  It  lies 
in  the  east  along  the  extreme  frontier  of  Khorasan,  and  its  bottom 
cannot  be  penetrated  by  human  eyes.2  Alexander,  after  having 
advanced  thus  far,  was  prevented  from  proceeding  by  a  host  of  snakes. 
In  this  valley  are  found  snakes  which  by  gazing  at  a  man  cause  his 
death.  He  therefore  caused  mirrors  to  be  made  for  them;  and  when 
they  thus  beheld  themselves,  they  perished,  while  Alexander's  men 
could  look  at  them.*  Thereupon  Alexander  contrived  another  ruse: 
he  had  sheep  slaughtered,  skinned,  and  flung  on  the  bottom  of  the 
valley.  The  diamonds  adhered  to  the  flesh.  The  birds  of  prey  seized 
them  and  brought  part  of  them  up.  The  soldiers  pursued  the  birds 
and  took  whatever  of  their  spoils  they  dropped."  This  account  might 
lead  us  to  suspect  that  the  legend  may  have  formed  part  of  the  Romance 
of  Alexander,  the  archetype  of  which  is  preserved  in  the  book  known  as 
that  of  Pseudo-Callisthenes,  and  produced  at  Alexandria  in  Egypt  in 
the  second  century  a.d.4  In  fact,  however,  it  does  not  appear  there, 
nor  in  any  of  the  other  early  Western  or  Oriental  cycles  of  the  Alexander 
legends.     The  first  Alexander  legend  in  which  it  was  incorporated  is 

1  J.  Ruska,  Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  p.  150. 

1  Almost  identical  with  the  phraseology  of  Epiphanius:  "  Ita  ut  signis  desuper,  a 
summitatibus  montium  tanquam  de  muris  aspiciat  solum  convallis,  pervidere  non 
possit." 

3  A  reminiscence  of  the  basilisk,  that  hideous  serpent-like  monster  described  by 
Pliny  (viii,  33).  The  mediaeval  poets  have  the  basilisk  die  when  it  beholds  itself 
in  a  mirror  (F.  Lauchert,  Geschichte  des  Physiologus,  p.  186). 

*  According  to  current  opinion.  A.  Ausfeld  (Der  griechische  Alexanderroman, 
p.  242,  Leipzig,  1907),  however,  in  his  fundamental  investigation  of  the  Greek 
work,  dates  the  oldest  recension  of  Pseudo-Callisthenes  with  great  probability  in  the 
second  century  B.C. 


Legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley  ii 

the  Iskander-nameh  of  the  Persian  poet  Nizaml  (1141-1203);1  here  we 
likewise  meet  the  snakes,  and  it  is  now  clear  that  Aristotle's  lapidariutn 
was  the  source  of  Nizaml's  episode.2  It  is  well  known  that  in  the  Arabic 
stories  of  Sindbad  the  Sailor,  Sindbad,  deposited  by  the  Rokh  in  the 
Diamond  Valley,  observes  how  merchants  throw  down  flesh,  which  is 
carried  upward  by  vultures  (also  Nizaml  speaks  of  vultures)  together 
with  the  diamonds  sticking  to  it;  enveloped  by  this  flesh,  he  is  lifted 
in  the  same  manner.3  The  gradual  growth  of  the  legend  from  the 
simple  form  in  which  Epiphanius  had  clothed  it  is  interesting  to  follow. 
In  the  celebrated  Arabic  "Book  of  the  Wonders  of  India,"4  written 
about  a.d.  960,  our  legend  is  told  by  a  traveller  who  had  penetrated  into 
the  countries  of  India,  and  who  localized  it  in  Kashmir.  He  introduces 
a  new  element, —  a  fire  constantly  burning  in  the  valley  day  and  night, 

1  J.  Ruska,  Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  p.  14. 

1  Qazwlnl  (1203-83)  has  the  same  story  somewhat  more  amplified  (J.  Ruska, 
Steinbuch  aus  der  Kosmographie  des  al-Qazwlnl,  p.  35);  but  it  is  interesting  that  he 
communicates  two  versions  of  it, —  one  being  a  close  adaptation  of  Aristotle's 
account,  the  other  staged  on  Serendlb  (Ceylon)  [where  diamonds  are  not  found]  and 
not  connected  with  the  name  of  Alexander.  It  is  obvious  that  the  Arabic  polyhistor, 
in  his  notice  of  the  diamond,  is  reproducing  two  different  sources, —  the  first  being 
introduced  by  the  words  "Aristotle  says;"  the  second,  by  the  words  "Another 
says."  It  is  clear  also  that  in  this  anonymous  version  the  snakes  are  a  purely  inci- 
dental accessory  which  was  lacking  in  the  original  text.  "The  mines  are  located  in 
the  mountains  of  Serendlb,  in  a  valley  of  great  depth,  in  which  there  are  deadly 
snakes."  The  snakes,  however,  are  put  out  of  commission  in  the  capture  of  the 
diamonds,  which  is  due  to  the  action  of  the  vultures;  and  in  order  to  justify  the  in- 
troduction of  the  reptiles,  it  is  added  at  the  end  that  large  stones  have  to  remain  in 
the  valley,  as  it  cannot  be  reached  for  fear  of  the  snakes.  This  observation  is  not 
without  value  for  tracing  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  legend.  It  shows  that  the 
feature  of  the  snakes,  however  tempting  this  suggestion  of  its  Indian  origin  may  be 
to  a  superficial  judgment,  was  not  conceived  in  India,  but  in  the  Arabic-Persian 
sphere  of  the  Alexander  legends,  with  the  evident  object  of  aggrandizing  the  exploits 
of  the  conqueror.  Qazwlnl's  duplicity  of  versions  is  mirrored  by  Marco  Polo 
(ed.  of  Yule  and  Cordier,  Vol.  II,  pp.  360-361),  who  likewise  offers  two  variants, — 
one  with  serpents,  and  another  without  them.  The  dependence  of  Qazwlnl's  story 
on  that  in  Aristotle's  lapidariutn  has  already  been  recognized  by  E.  Rohde  (Der 
griechische  Roman,  p.  193,  note,  3d  ed.,  Leipzig,  1914).  Ruska  is  right  in  his  con- 
clusion that  the  traditions  concerning  stones  are  relatively  independent,  and  par- 
ticularly so  from  the  Alexander  cycle;  many  a  story  in  its  origin  had  no  connection  with 
Alexander,  but  was  subsequently  associated  with  him  in  the  same  manner  as  King 
Solomon  became  the  centre  of  numerous  legendary  fabrics.  This  follows  in  particu- 
lar from  the  thorough  investigation  of  A.  Ausfeld  (Der  griechische  Alexanderroman), 
who  devoted  a  lifetime  of  study  to  the  Greek  romance  of  Alexander,  and  in  whose 
purified  text,  representing  the  oldest  accessible  version,  these  mineralogical  fables 
do  not  appear. 

*  Compare  also  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  p.  82  (ed.  of  Grunhut  and  Adler, 
Jerusalem,  1903). 

4  P.  A.  van  der  Lith  and  L.  M.  Devic,  Livre  des  merveilles  de  l'lnde,  p.  128 
(Leiden,  1883-86);  or  L.  M.  Devic,  Les  merveilles  de  l'lnde,  p.  109  (Paris,  1878). 


12  The  Diamond 

summer  and  winter.  The  serpents  are  distributed  around  the  fire; 
sheep's  flesh,  eagles,  and  capture  of  the  stones,  are  the  same  features  as 
previously  mentioned,  but  the  dangers  of  the  work  are  magnified: 
the  flesh  may  be  devoured  by  the  flames;  the  eagle,  drawing  too  near 
the  fire,  may  likewise  be  burnt;  and  the  captors  may  perish  from  the 
peril  of  the  fire  and  the  serpents.1 

In  the  Sung  period  (960-1278)  the  story  was  vaguely  known  to 
Chou  Mi.2  In  his  work  Ts'i  tung  ye  yii,  as  quoted  by  Li  Shi-chen,  he 
says  that,  according  to  oral  accounts,  diamonds  come  from  the  Western 
Countries  (Si  yii)  and  the  Uigurs;  that  the  stones  stick  to  the  food  taken 
by  eagles  on  the  summits  of  high  mountains,  thus  enter  their  bowels, 
and  appear  in  their  droppings,  which  are  searched  by  men  for  the 
stones  in  the  desert  of  Gobi,  north  of  the  Yellow  River.  The  honest 
author  adds,  "I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  so  or  not."  Fang  I-chi, 
the  author  of  the  Wu  li  siao  shi,3  who  wrote  in  the  first  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  criticises  Chou  Mi's  story  as  erroneous  and  not 

1  An  echo  of  a  certain  motive  of  the  legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley  seems  to 
reverberate  in  the  Shamir  legend  of  the  Semitic  peoples.  The  most  interesting  form 
of  this  legend  is  found  in  Qazwlnl  (Ruska,  Steinbuch  aus  der  Kosmographie,  p.  16), 
who  calls  the  stone  samur  and  characterizes  it  as  the  stone  cutting  all  other  stones. 
Solomon  endeavors  to  obtain  it  that  the  stones  required  for  the  temple  might  be 
cut  noiselessly.  Only  the  eagle  knows  the  place  to  find  it,  but  the  secret  must 
be  elicited  from  the  bird  through  a  ruse.  The  eggs  are  removed  from  its  nest, 
enclosed  in  a  glass  bottle,  and  restored  to  their  place.  The  returning  eagle  cannot 
break  the  glass  with  its  pinions,  and  seeks  for  a  piece  of  the  stone  in  question,  which 
he  throws  toward  the  vessel,  breaking  it  into  halves  without  noise.  The  eagle  replies 
to  Solomon's  query  that  the  stone  is  brought  from  a  mountain  in  the  west,  termed 
Mount  Samur,  whither  Solomon  sends  the  Djinns,  who  get  a  goodly  supply  for  him. 
In  this  legend  the  stone  samur  doubtless  is  intended  for  the  diamond,  and  the  motive 
of  the  eagle  knowing  its  whereabouts  is  the  same  as  in  the  legend  of  the  Diamond 
Valley.  The  Talmud  has  strangely  disfigured  this  story  which  is  very  sensibly  told 
by  Qazwlnl,  and  has  transformed  the  stone  shamir  into  a  worm  of  the  size  of  a  barley- 
grain,  capable  of  splitting  and  engraving  the  hardest  objects,  so  that  the  shamir 
figures  among  the  fabulous  animals  of  the  Talmud  (L.  Lewysohn,  Zoologie  des 
Talmud,  p.  351).  The  worm  (and  simultaneously)  diamond  shamir  has  been  en- 
trusted to  the  wood-cock  who  took  it  to  the  summit  of  an  uninhabited  mountain; 
this  is  analogous  to  the  birds  or  eagles  bringing  the  diamonds  up  from  the  snake 
valley,  and  it  is  very  tempting  to  assume  that  the  snakes  may  have  given  rise  to  the 
curious  Talmudic  conception  of  the  diamond  as  a  worm.  Lewysohn  is  of  the  opinion 
that  the  word  shamir  conveys  the  notion  of  hardness,  and,  for  example,  denotes  iron, 
which  is  harder  than  stone,  and  also  the  diamond. —  The  Hebrew  word  shamir 
appears  in  Jeremiah  (xvn,  1),  Ezekiel  (in,  9),  and  Zechariah  (vn,  12),  and  is  supposed 
to  refer  to  the  diamond  ("adamant  stone"  in  the  English  Bible);  more  probably  it 
is  the  emery.  In  the  opinion  of  some  scholars,  Greek  oytipis  ("emery")  is  derived 
from  the  Hebrew  word.  For  further  bibliographical  data  on  the  Shamir  legend  see 
T.  Zachariae,  Zeitschr.  Vereins  filr  Volkskunde,  Vol.  XXIV,  1914.  P-  423. 

2  A  celebrated  and  fertile  author,  who  was  born  about  1230,  and  died  before  1320 
(see  Pelliot,  T'oung  Pao,  1913,  pp.  367,  368). 

3  Ch.  8,  p.  22  (edition  of  Ning  tsing  Vang,  1884). 


Legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley  13 

clear.  Both  authors  were  evidently  not  acquainted  with  the  older 
version  of  the  Liang  se  kung  ki. 

A  new  impetus  to  the  legend  was  given  during  the  Mongol  period  in 
the  thirteenth  century,  when  it  was  revived  among  the  Arabs,  in  China, 
and  in  Europe.  Reference  has  already  been  made  to  Qazwlnl  ( 1 203-83) , 
who  attributes  it  to  the  Valley  of  the  Moon  among  the  mountains  of 
Serendlb  (Ceylon) ;  and  the  geographer  EdrisI  localizes  it  in  the  land  of 
the  Kirkhtr  (probably  Kirghiz)  in  Upper  Asia.  The  Arabic  mineralogist 
Ahmed  TifashI,  who  died  in  1253,  even  gives  two  versions, —  one  refer- 
ring to  the  hyacinth  (in  agreement  with  Epiphanius)  of  Ceylon,  the  other 
to  the  diamonds  of  India.1  The  former  is  vividly  told,  and  the  serpents 
"able  to  swallow  an  entire  man"  have  duly  been  introduced;  the  latter 
is  briefly  jotted  down,  with  a  reference  to  the  former  chapter. 

Ch'ang  T£,  the  Chinese  envoy  who  was  sent  in  1 259  to  Hulagu,  King  of 
Persia,  mentions  in  his  diary,  among  the  wonders  of  the  Western  countries, 
the  diamond,  of  which  he  correctly  says  that  it  comes  from  India.  "  The 
people  take  flesh,"  his  story  goes,  "and  throw  it  into  the  great  valley. 
Then  birds  come  and  eat  this  flesh,  after  which  diamonds  are  found  in 
their  excrement." 2    It  is  obvious  that  Ch'ang  T6  recorded  the  legend  as 

1  A.  Raineri  Biscia,  Fior  di  pensieri  sulle  pietre  preziose  di  Ahmed  Teifascite, 
pp.  21,  54  (2d  ed.,  Bologna,  1906).  As  this  work  may  not  be  in  the  hands  of  every 
reader,  the  text  of  the  longer  version  may  here  be  given:  "  Narra  Ahmed  Teifascite, 
a  cui  il  sommo  Iddio  usi  misericordia,  che  in  alcuni  anni  non  piovendo  punto  in  quel 
montuoso  territorio  de  Rahun,  ed  i  suoi  torrenti  non  trasportando  per  conseguenza 
verun  lapillo  di  giacinto,  coloro  i  quali  bramano  nulladimeno  di  fame  acquisto, 
ricorrono  al  seguente  compenso.  Siccome  sulla  cima  del  prefato  monte  trovansi, 
ed  annidano  molte  aquile,  stante  la  total  mancanza  di  abitatori,  cosi  prendono  quelli 
un  grosso  animale,  lo  scannano,  lo  scorticano,  e  dopo  averlo  tagliato  e  diviso  in  larghi 
pezzi  li  lasciano  alle  falde  dello  stesso  monte,  e  se  n'allontanano.  Osservando  quelle 
aquile  siffatti  pezzi  di  carne  corrono  tosto  per  rapirli,  e  li  trasportano  verso  dei  loro 
nidi;  ma  giacche  cammin  facendo  sono  costrette  di  posarli  qualche  volta  in  terra, 
n'accade  percib  che  attacansi  a  cotesti  pezzi  di  carne  diverse  pietruzze  o  lapilli  di 
giacinto.  In  seguito  ripigliando  le  aquile  stesse  il  volo  coi  rispettivi  pezzi  di  carne, 
e  venendo  tra  loro  a  contesa  per  rapporto  ai  medesimi,  si  da  la  combinazione  che 
nella  mischia  ne  cadono  alcuni  fuori  dal  predetto  monte;  lo  che  veduto  dalle  persone 
ivi  a  bella  posta  concorse  vanno  subito  a  raccogliere  da  tali  pezzi  tutta  quella  copia 
di  giacinto,  che  vi  e  rimasta  attaccata.  La  parte  inferiore  dell'indicato  monte  e  in- 
gombrata  da  folti  boschi,  da  larghi  e  profondi  fossi,  e  burroni,  non  che  da  alberi  d'alto 
fusto,  ove  trovansi  vari  serpenti  che  inghiottiscono  un  uomo  intero.  Per  tal  cagione 
niuno  pud  salir  su  quel  monte  e  vedere  le  maraviglie  che  in  esso  contengonsi." 

1  Bretschneider,  Mediaeval  Researches,  Vol.  I,  p.  152.  Bretschneider  states 
that  the  legend  is  very  ancient,  but  refers  only  to  Sindbad  the  Sailor  from  a  second- 
hand source,  and  to  Marco  Polo.  The  text  of  the  passage  will  be  found  in  G. 
Schlegel  (Nederlandsch-chineesch  Woordenboek,  Vol.  I,  p.  860).  Compare  Marco 
Polo  (ed.  of  Yule  and  Cordier,  Vol.  II,  p.  361):  "The  people  go  to  the  nests  of 
those  white  eagles,  of  which  there  are  many,  and  in  their  droppings  they  find  plenty 
of  diamonds  which  the  birds  have  swallowed  in  devouring  the  meat  that  was  cast 
into  the  valleys." 


14  The  Diamond 

heard  by  him  in  the  West,  and  that  his  version  does  not  depend  upon  the 
older  one  of  the  Liang  se  kung  ki,  which  evidently  was  not  known  to  him. 
This  case  is  interesting,  for  it  shows  that  the  same  Western  story  was 
handed  on  to  the  Chinese  at  different  times  and  from  different  sources. 

About  the  same  time,  Marco  Polo  chronicled  the  diamond  story1 
which  he  learned  in  India,  and  its  close  agreement  in  the  main  points 
with  the  Arabic  authors  is  amazing.  The  Venetian  was  not  the  first 
European,  however,  to  record  it;  as  pointed  out  by  Yule,  it  is  one  of  the 
many  stories  in  the  scrap-book  of  the  Byzantine  historian  Tzetzes.2 

Nicolo  Conti  of  the  fifteenth  century  relates  it  of  a  mountain  called 
Albenigaras,  fifteen  days'  journey  in  a  northerly  direction  from  Vija- 
yanagar;  and  it  is  told  again,  apparently  after  Conti,  by  Julius  Caesar 
Scaliger.  As  a  popular  tale  it  is  found  not  only  in  Armenia,3  as  stated 
by  Yule,  but  also  in  Russia.4 

1  Yule  and  Cordier,  The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo,  Vol.  II,  p.  360.  The  bewitching 
of  the  serpents  by  means  of  mirrors  is  wanting.  The  feature  of  the  eagles  feeding  upon 
the  serpents  appears  to  be  a  thoroughly  Indian  notion,  absent  in  the  Arabic  accounts. 

2  One  of  the  earliest  mediaeval  sources  that  contains  the  story  is  the  fantastic 
description  of  India  and  the  country  of  Prester  John,  written  by  Elysaeus  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  edited  by  F.  Zarncke  (Der  Priester  Johannes 
II,  pp.  120-127).  This  text  is  as  follows:  "Quomodo  autem  carbunculi  reperiantur 
audiamus.  Ibi  est  vallis  quaedam,  in  qua  carbunculi  reperiuntur.  Nullus  autem 
hominum  accedere  potest  prae  pavore  griffonum  et  profunditate  vallis.  Et  cum 
habere  volunt  lapides,  occidunt  pecora  et  accipiunt  cadavera,  et  in  nocte  accedunt 
ad  summitatem  vallis  et  deiciunt  ea  in  vallem,  et  sic  inprimuntur  lapides  in  cadavera, 
et  acuti  sunt.  Veniunt  autem  grif  ones  et  assumunt  cadavera  et  educunt  ea.  Eductis 
ergo  cadaveribus  perduntur  carbunculi,  et  sic  inveniuntur  in  campis." 

*  Probably  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  adopted  by  the  Armenian  lapidarium  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  translated  into  Russian  by  K.  P.  Patkanov  (p.  3).  Of 
especial  interest  is  the  fact  that  the  snakes  are  dissociated  from  the  two  Armenian 
versions  known  to  us.  This  is  the  more  curious,  as  the  lapidarium  fastens  the  story 
upon  Alexander:  consequently  some  Oriental  form  of  the  Romance  of  Alexander 
must  have  pre-existed,  in  which  the  snakes  did  not  yet  figure.  For  the  benefit  of 
those  who  may  not  have  access  to  Von  Haxthausen's  Transcaucasia  (London, 
1854),  the  source  of  the  Armenian  popular  story  (p.  360),  its  text  may  here  follow: 
"In  Hindostan  there  is  a  deep  and  rocky  valley,  in  which  all  kinds  of  precious  stones, 
of  incalculable  value,  lie  scattered  upon  the  ground;  when  the  sun  shines  upon  them, 
they  glisten  like  a  sea  of  glowing,  many-colored  fire.  The  people  see  this  from  the 
summits  of  the  surrounding  hills,  but  no  one  can  enter  the  valley,  partly  because  there 
is  no  path  to  it  and  they  could  only  be  let  down  the  steep  rocks,  and  partly  because 
the  heat  is  so  great  that  no  one  could  endure  it  for  a  minute.  Merchants  come 
hither  from  foreign  countries;  they  take  an  ox  and  hew  it  in  pieces,  which  they  fix 
upon  long  poles,  and  cast  into  the  valley  of  gems.  Then  huge  birds  of  prey  hover 
around,  descend  into  the  valley,  and  carry  off  the  pieces  of  flesh.  But  the  merchants 
observe  closely  the  direction  in  which  the  birds  fly,  and  the  places  where  they  alight 
to  feed,  and  there  they  frequently  find  the  most  valuable  gems." 

4Azbukovnik,  Tales  of  the  Russian  People  (in  Russian),  Vol.  II,  p.  161.  As 
the  story  is  here  told  in  regard  to  the  hyacinth,  it  appears  to  go  back  directly  to  the 
account  of  Epiphanius. 


Legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley  15 

Under  the  Ming  (1368-1643)  the  story  was  repeated  by  Ts'ao  Chao 
in  his  work  Ko  ku  yao  lun,  which  he  published  in  1387.  His  version  is  as 
follows:  "Diamond-sand  comes  from  Tibet  (Si-fan).  On  the  high 
summits  of  mountains  with  deep  valleys,  unapproachable  to  men,  they 
make  perches  for  the  eagles,  on  which  they  set  out  food.  The  birds  eat 
the  flesh  on  the  mountains  and  drop  their  ordure  into  desert  places. 
This  is  gathered,  and  the  stones  are  found  in  it."1 

As  regards  the  origin  of  our  legend,  two  distinct  opinions  have  been 
voiced.  Yule*  and  Rohde*  point  to  its  great  resemblance  to  what 
Herodotus  (III,  1 1 1)  tells  of  the  manner  in  which  cinnamon  was  obtained 
by  the  Arabs;  and  a  certain  amount  of  affinity  between  the  two  cannot 
be  denied.  Great  birds,  says  Herodotus,  make  use  of  cinnamon-sticks 
to  build  their  nests,  fastened  with  mud  to  high  rocks,  up  which  no  foot 
of  man  is  able  to  climb.  So  the  Arabians  resort  to  the  artifice  of  cutting 
up  the  carcasses  of  beasts  of  burden  and  placing  the  pieces  near  the 
nests,  whereupon  they  withdraw  to  a  distance;  and  the  old  birds,  swoop- 
ing down,  seize  the  flesh  and  bring  it  up  into  their  nests.  As  the  pieces 
are  large,  they  break  through  the  nest  and  fall  to  the  ground,  when  the 
Arabians  return  and  collect  the  cinnamon.  The  interval  between 
Herodotus  and  Epiphanius  is  too  great  to  be  spanned  or  to  allow  us  to 
link  their  stories  in  close  historical  bonds.  There  must  be  many  inter- 
mediary links  unknown  to  us.  They  evidently  belong,  as  two  individual 
variations,  to  the  same  type  of  legend,  and  seem  to  point  to  the  fact 
that  the  latter  existed  in  the  near  Orient  for  a  long  time.4  The  Chinese 
text  recorded  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  from  which  we 
started,  furnishes  additional  testimony  to  this  effect. 

V.  Ball8  is  inclined  to  think  that  the  story  "appears  to  be  founded 
on  the  very  common  practice  in  India,  on  the  opening  of  a  mine,  of 
offering  up  cattle  to  propitiate  the  evil  spirits  who  are  supposed  to  guard 
treasures  —  these  being  represented  by  the  serpents  in  the  myth.  At 
such  sacrifices  in  India,  birds  of  prey  invariably  assemble  to  pick  up 

1  Ko  chi  king  yuan,  Ch.  33,  p.  3  b. 

*  L.  c,  p.  363. 

*  Der  griechische  Roman,  p.  193. 

*  Certain  elements  of  the  story  may  be  found  also  in  Pliny's  (xxxvii,  33)  curious 
legend  of  the  stone  callaina,  which  has  wrongly  been  identified  with  the  turquois: 
Some  say  that  these  stones  are  found  in  Arabia  in  the  nests  of  the  birds  called  "black- 
heads" (Sunt  qui  in  Arabia  inveniri  eas  dicant  in  nidis  avium,  quas  melancoryphos 
vocant).  Pliny  then  reports  the  occurrence  of  the  stones  on  inaccessible  rocks  which 
people  cannot  climb,  and  mentions  the  danger  connected  with  the  venture  of  seeking 
them.  Capturing  them  with  slings  certainly  is  a  different  feature,  characteristic  of 
another  cycle  of  legends. 

•Translation  of  Tavernier's  Travels  in  India,  Vol.  II,  p.  461. 


1 6  The  Diamond 

what  they  can,  and  in  that  fact  we  probably  have  the  remainder  of  the 
foundation  of  the  story.  It  is  probable  also  that  the  story  by  Pliny 
and  other  early  writers,  of  the  diamond  being  softened  by  the  blood  of 
a  he-goat,  had  its  origin  in  such  sacrifices."1    This  subjective  explana- 

1  This  tradition,  which,  as  will  be  seen  below,  has  a  curious  parallel  in  China,  is 
entirely  independent  of  the  Diamond- Valley  story,  and  bears  no  relation  to  it.  It  is 
regrettable  that  Ball  does  not  betray  who  the  "other  early  writers"  are.  Pliny,  in 
fact,  is  the  earliest  and  only  ancient  writer  to  have  it  on  record;  Augustinus  (fifth 
century),  Isidorus  (who  died  in  636)  and  Marbod  (1035-1123)  have  merely  reiterated 
it  after  Pliny,  and  Pliny's  story  certainly  is  not  borrowed  from  India.  W.  Crooke 
(Things  Indian,  p.  135)  is  inclined  to  think  that  if  Ball's  explanation  be  correct,  the 
early  diamond-diggers  must  have  been  non-Aryans,  who  did  not  regard  the  cow  as 
sacred.  The  "early  diamond-diggers "  are  a  bit  of  exaggeration:  in  no  Indian  record 
of  very  early  date  does  any  mention  of  the  diamond  occur.  Crooke's  information 
on  this  point  lacks  somewhat  the  necessary  precision.  According  to  him,  "diamonds 
were  from  very  early  times  valued  in  India.  The  Puranas  speak  of  them  as  divided 
into  castes,  and  Marco  Polo  describes  them  as  found  in  the  kingdom  of  MutfiH." 
The  Purana  were  at  the  best  composed  in  the  first  centuries  A.D.,  and  more  probably 
much  later.  The  knowledge  of  the  diamond,  certainly,  does  not  go  back  in  India 
into  that  unfathomable  antiquity,  as  pretended  by  some  mineralogical  and  other 
authors  (for  instance,  G.  Watt,  Dictionary  of  Economic  Products  of  India,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  93).  It  was  wholly  unknown  in  the  Vedic  period,  from  which  no  specific  names  of 
precious  stones  are  handed  down  at  all.  The  word  mani,  which  has  sometimes  been 
taken  to  mean  the  diamond  (Macdonell  and  Keith,  Vedic  Index  of  Names  and  Sub- 
jects, Vol.  II,  p.  119),  simply  denotes  a  bead  used  for  personal  ornamentation  and  as 
an  amulet,  and  the  arbitrary  notion  that  it  might  refer  to  the  diamond  is  disproved 
by  the  fact  that  it  could  be  strung  on  a  thread.  The  word  vajra,  which  at  a  subse- 
quent period  became  an  attribute  of  the  diamond,  originally  served  for  the  designation 
of  a  club-shaped  weapon  and  of  Indra's  thunderbolt  in  particular  (Macdonell, 
Vedic  Mythology,  p.  55).  Philological  considerations  show  us  that  the  diamond 
had  no  place  in  times  of  Indian  antiquity,  for  no  plain  and  specific  word  has  been 
appropriated  for  it  in  any  ancient  Indian  language.  Either,  as  in  the  case  of  vajra, 
a  word  long  familiar  with  another  meaning  was  transferred  to  it,  or  epithets  briefly 
indicating  some  characteristic  feature  of  the  stone  were  created.  S.  K.  Aiyangar 
(Note  upon  Diamonds  in  South  India,  Quarterly  Journal  of  the  Mythic  Society, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  129,  Madras,  1914)  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  first  systematic 
reference  to  diamonds  is  made  in  the  ArthacSstra  of  Kaufrlya  (see  V.  A.  Smith, 
Early  History  of  India,  3d  ed.,  pp.  1 51-153).  He  mentions  six  kinds  of  diamonds 
classified  according  to  their  mines,  and  described  as  differing  in  lustre  and  degree  of 
hardness.  He  points  out  those  of  regular  crystalline  form  and  those  of  irregular 
shape.  The  best  diamond  should  be  large,  heavy,  capable  of  bearing  blows,  regular 
in  shape,  able  to  scratch  the  surface  of  metal  vessels,  refractive  and  brilliant.  Aiyan- 
gar dates  the  work  in  question  "probably  at  the  commencement  of  the  third  century 
B.C."  This  date,  however,  is  a  mooted  point  (compare  L.  Finot,  Bull,  de  I'Ecolefran- 
caise,  Vol.  XII,  1912,  pp.  1-4),  which  it  would  be  out  of  place  to  discuss  here.  More 
probably,  it  is  in  the  early  Pali  scriptures  of  Buddhism  that  we  can  trace  the  first 
unmistakable  references  to  the  diamond.  In  the  Questions  of  King  Milinda  (Milin- 
dapaHha,  translation  of  Rhys  Davids,  p.  128)  we  read  that  the  diamond  ought  to 
have  three  qualities:  it  should  be  pure  throughout;  it  cannot  be  alloyed  with  another 
substance;  and  it  is  mounted  together  with  the  most  costly  gems.  The  first  alludes 
metaphorically  to  the  monk's  purity  in  his  means  of  livelihood;  the  second,  to  his 
keeping  aloof  from  the  company  of  the  wicked;  the  third,  to  his  association  with  men 
of  highest  excellence,  with  men  who  have  entered  the  first  or  second  or  third  stage  of 


Legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley  17 

tion  is  hardly  convincing.  It  presupposes  that  the  legend  originated 
in  India,  but  this  postulate  is  not  proved.  That  the  later  Arabic  authors 
and  Marco  Polo  place  the  locality  in  India,  means  nothing.  Epiphanius 
lays  the  plot  in  Scythia;  the  Chinese  version  is  laid  in  Fu-lin,  and  that 

the  Noble  Path,  with  the  jewel  treasures  of  the  Arhats.  The  Milindapafiha  may 
be  dated  with  a  fair  degree  of  certainty:  Milinda,  who  holds  conversations  with  a 
Buddhist  sage,  is  the  Greek  King  Menandros,  who  ruled  approximately  between 
125  and  95  B.C.  in  the  north-west  of  India;  and  the  dialogues  attributed  to  him  may 
have  been  composed  in  the  beginning  of  our  era  (M.  Winternitz,  Geschichte  der 
indischen  Litteratur,  Vol.  II,  p.  140;  V.  A.  Smith,  Early  History  of  India,  p.  225). 
It  is  therefore  quite  sufficient  to  believe  that  the  diamond  became  known  in  India 
during  the  Buddhist  epoch  in  the  first  centuries  B.C.,  say,  roughly,  from  the  sixth  to 
the  fourth  century.  The  precious  stones  mentioned  in  Milindapafiha  are  enumerated 
by  L.  Finot  (Lapidaires  indiens,  p.  xix).  The  earliest  descriptions  of  the  diamond 
on  the  part  of  the  Indians  are  by  Varahamihira  (a.d.  505-587;  see  H.  Kern,  Ver- 
spreide  Geschriften,  Vol.  II,  p.  97)  and  by  Buddhabhafta,  who  wrote  prior  to  the 
sixth  century  a.d.  Since  the  word  vajra  designates  both  Indra's  thunderbolt 
and  the  diamond,  it  is  in  many  cases  difficult  to  decide  which  of  the  two  is  meant 
(A.  Foucher,  Etudes  sur  l'iconographie  bouddhique  de  l'lnde,  Vol.  II,  p.  15,  left 
the  point  undecided,  rendering  vajrasana  by  "siege  de  diamant  ou  du  foudre"); 
and  the  same  obstacle  turns  up  again  in  Chinese-Buddhist  literature,  where  the 
term  kin-kang  as  the  translation  of  Sanskrit  vajra  covers  the  two  notions;  so  that, 
for  instance,  Pelliot  (Bull,  de  VEcole  francaise,  Vol.  II,  p.  146)  raises  the  question, 
"Quel  est  le  sens  precis  de  kin-kang?"  Whether  the  title  of  the  Sutra  Vajracchedikd, 
for  instance,  is  correctly  translated  by  "diamond-cutter,"  as  has  been  done,  is  much 
open  to  doubt.  If  it  should  mean  "sharply  cutting,  like  a  diamond"  (Winternitz, 
/.  c,  p.  249),  why  could  it  not  mean  as  well  "sharply  cutting,  like  a  thunderbolt"? 
The  thunderbolt,  generally  described  as  metallic,  is  also  sharp;  and  Indra  whets  it 
like  a  knife,  or  as  a  bull  its  horns.  Though  a  Chinese  commentator  of  that  work 
observes  that,  as  the  diamond  excels  all  other  precious  gems  in  brilliance  and  in- 
destructibility, so  also  the  wisdom  of  this  work  transcends  and  shall  outlive  all  other 
knowledge  known  to  philosophy  (W.  Gemmell,  The  Diamond  Sutra,  p.  47),  it  is  but 
a  late  afterthought,  and  proves  nothing  as  to  the  original  Indian  concept.  The  most 
curious  misconceptions  have  arisen  about  the  so-called  "  Diamond-Seat "  ( Vajrasana). 
This  is  the  name  of  the  throne  or  seat  on  which  Cakyamuni,  the  founder  of  Buddhism, 
reached  perfect  enlightenment  under  the  sacred  fig-tree  at  Gaya.  The  Chinese 
pilgrim  Huan  Tsang,  who  visited  the  place  during  his  memorable  journey  in  India, 
remarks  that  it  was  made  from  diamond  (Ta  T*ang  si  yii  ki,  Ch.  8,  p.  14,  ed.  of  Shou 
shan  ko  ts'ung  shu;  Julien,  Memoires  sur  les  contrees  occidentales,  Vol.  I,  p.  460; 
Waiters,  On  Yuan  Chwang's  Travels,  Vol.  II,  p.  114);  but  this  is  incredible,  if  for 
no  other  reason,  because  he  proceeds  to  say  that  this  throne  measured  over  a  hundred 
paces  in  circuit.  While  this  may  be  solely  the  outcome  of  a  popular  tradition  growing 
out  of  an  interpretation  of  the  name,  Huan  Tsang  himself  explains  well  how  this 
name  arose.  It  is  derived,  according  to  him,  from  the  circumstance  that  here  the 
thousand  Buddhas  of  this  eon  (kalpa)  enter  the  vajrasamddhi  ("diamond  ecstasy"), 
the  designation  for  a  certain  degree  of  contemplative  ecstasy.  Moreover,  in  the 
Biography  of  Huan  Tsang  (Julien,  Histoire  de  la  vie  de  Hiouen-Thsang,  p.  139) 
it  is  more  explicitly  stated  that  the  employment  of  the  word  "diamond"  in  the 
term  "Diamond-Seat"  signifies  that  this  throne  is  firm,  solid,  indestructible,  and 
capable  of  resisting  all  shocks  of  the  world.  In  other  words,  it  is  used  metaphorically ; 
Buddha's  own  firmness  and  determination  in  the  long  struggle  for  obtaining  enlight- 
enment and  salvation,  his  fortitude  in  overcoming  the  hostile  forces  of  Mara, 
the  Evil  One,  being  transferred  to  the  seat  which  he  occupied  immovably  during 


1 8  The  Diamond 

of  Pseudo-Aristotle  in  Khorasan,  etc.  No  ancient  Sanskrit  or  Pali 
version  of  the  story  has  as  yet  become  known;  and  the  weight  of  evidence 
is  in  favor  of  the  Arabs  having  propagated  it  farther  eastward  in  the 
ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  while  it  was  known  in  China  long  before 
that  time.  The  snakes  and  eagles,  of  course,  could  be  translated  into 
Indian  thought  as  Naga  and  Garucja;1  but,  again,  the  Indians  do  not 
tell  us  of  such  a  tradition  in  connection  with  these  two  mythical  crea- 
tures. Even  granted  that  the  addition  of  the  snakes  in  Pseudo- Aristotle 
might  be  due  to  a  secondary  influence  or  to  some  latent  undercurrent 
of  Indian  conception  which  possibly  penetrated  into  Syria,  the  Indian 
origin  of  the  legend  would  not  be  proved,  either:  for  Epiphanius  has 
no  snakes;  and  the  old  Chinese  version  lacks  them  too,  and  has  "birds" 
instead  of  eagles.  We  remember,  however,  that  the  Chinese  text 
winds  up  with  an  allusion  to  a  Buddhist  notion,  the  Devaraja  of  the 
Rupadhatu;  but  neither  is  this  evidence  of  an  Indian  provenience  of  the 
legend,  which,  as  unambiguously  stated  in  the  text  of  Chang  Yue, 
hailed  from  Fu-lin.  This  additional  annotation,  certainly  not  devised 
in  Fu-lin,  was  derived  by  the  author  from  another  tradition,  which  we 
now  propose  to  examine,  and  which  will  shed  unexpected  light  on  the 
position  held  by  India  in  the  diffusion  of  this  tale. 

A  contribution  to  the  question  whether  the  legend  of  the  Diamond 

that  interval.  The  counterpart  of  this  sacred  site  may  be  viewed  in  China  on  the 
Island  of  P'u-t'o,  in  the  so-called  "P'an-t'o  Rock,"  which  is  styled  "Diamond  Pre- 
cious Stone,"  on  which,  according  to  local  legend,  the  Bodhisatva  Avalokitecvara 
(Kuan-yin)  sat  enthroned;  this  Diamond-Seat,  however,  is  nothing  but  a  rocky 
bowlder,  the  top  of  which  is  reached  by  means  of  a  ladder,  where  contemplative 
monks  may  often  be  seen  absorbed  by  the  religious  practice  of  meditation  (dhydna; 
compare  R.  F.  Johnston,  Buddhist  China,  p.  313,  London,  1913).  The  Vajrasana 
of  Buddha,  accordingly,  has  as  much  to  do  with  the  diamond  in  its  quality  of  stone 
as,  for  instance,  Dante's  diamond  throne  on  which  the  angel  of  God  is  seated  (L'angel 
di  Dio,  sedendo  in  su  la  soglia,  Che  mi  sembiava  pietra  di  diamante. —  Purgatorio, 
ix,  104-105).  Here  also  it  is  a  metaphor,  referring,  according  to  the  one,  to  the 
firmness  and  constancy  of  the  confessor,  or,  according  to  others,  to  the  symbol  of 
the  solid  fundament  of  the  Church  (Divina  Commedia,  ed.  Scartazzini,  p.  371). 
In  a  text  of  the  Japanese  Shin  sect,  the  question  is  of  a  "heart  strong  as  the  diamond " 
in  the  sense  of  a  diamond-hard  faith  (H.  Haas,  Amida  Buddha,  p.  122).  Also  the 
heart  of  the  hardened  sinner  is  compared  with  the  diamond  in  Buddhist  literature 
(H.  Wenzel,  Nagarjuna's  Friendly  Epistle,  p.  24,  stanza  83;  S.  Beal,  The  Suhril- 
lekha  or  Friendly  Letter,  p.  31,  stanza  85,  London,  1892).  The  Manicheans  used 
the  word  in  a  similar  manner  by  way  of  illustration,  when  it  is  said  in  one  of  their 
writings  that  the  Messenger  of  Light  is  the  precious  diamond  pillar  supporting  the 
multitude  of  beings  (Chavannes  and  Pelliot,  Trait6  manicheen,  p.  90). 

1  Marco  Polo  (/.  c.)  explains  the  presence  of  the  serpents  in  a  natural  manner: 
"Moreover  in  those  mountains  great  serpents  are  rife  to  a  marvellous  degree,  besides 
other  vermin,  and  this  owing  to  the  great  heat.  The  serpents  are  also  the  most 
venomous  in  existence,  insomuch  that  any  one  going  to  that  region  runs  fearful 
peril;  for  many  have  been  destroyed  by  these  evil  reptiles." 


Legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley  19 

Valley  was  known  in  ancient  India  is  furnished  by  the  same  work,  Liang 
se  kung  tse  ki,  as  supplied  to  us  with  the  Fu-lin  version  of  the  legend. 
Here  we  read  this  story:  "A  large  junk  of  Fu-nan  (Cambodja)  which 
had  come  from  western  India  arrived  (in  China)  and  offered  for  sale  a 
mirror  of  a  peculiar  variety  of  rock-crystal,1  one  foot  and  four  inches 
across  its  surface,  and  forty  catties  in  weight.  On  the  surface  and  in 
the  interior  it  was  pure  white  and  transparent,  and  displayed  many- 
colored  objects  on  its  obverse.  When  held  against  the  light  and  ex- 
amined, its  substance  was  not  discernible.  On  inquiry  for  the  price,  it 
was  given  at  a  million  strings  of  copper  coins.  The  Emperor  ordered 
the  officials  to  raise  this  sum,  but  the  treasury  did  not  hold  enough. 
Those  traders  said,  '  This  mirror  is  due  to  the  action  of  the  Devaraja 
of  the  Rupadhatu.2  On  felicitous  and  joyful  occasions  he  causes  the 
trees  of  the  gods8  to  pour  down  a  shower  of  precious  stones,  and  the 
mountains  receive  them.  The  mountains  conceal  and  seize  the  stones, 
so  that  they  are  difficult  to  obtain.  The  flesh  of  big  animals  is  cast 
into  the  mountains;  and  when  the  flesh  in  these  hiding-places  becomes 
so  putrefied  that  it  phosphoresces,  it  resembles  a  precious  stone.  Birds 
carry  it  off  in  their  beaks,  and  this  is  the  jewel  from  which  this  mirror 
is  made.'  Nobody  in  the  empire  understood  this  and  dared  pay  that 
price."4  This  account  gives  us  a  clew  as  to  how  it  happened  that  the 
Devaraja  of  the  Rupadhatu  was  linked  with  the  aforesaid  legend  hail- 
ing from  Fu-lin.  Both  legends  are  on  record  in  the  same  book,  and 
the  author  combined  the  one  report  with  the  other.  There  is  no  reason 
to  wonder  that  the  story  of  the  Fu-nan  traders  was  not  comprehended 
in  China.  We  ourselves  should  be  completely  at  sea,  did  not  the  West- 
ern legends  enlighten  the  mystery.  The  story-teller  from  Fu-nan  either 
did  not  express  himself  very  clearly  or  was  not  perfectly  understood  by 
his  interpreter,  or  the  text  of  the  Liang  se  kung  tse  ki  has  come  down 
to  us  in  corrupt  shape.  It  is  indubitable,  however,  that  the  story  here 
on  record  is  an  echo  of  the  legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley.  All  its  essen- 
tial features  clearly  stand  out, —  the  inaccessible  mountains  hoarding 
the  stones,  the  casting  of  flesh  on  them,  and  birds  securing  the  stones. 
The  narrative  is  only  obscure  in  omitting  to  state  that  the  jewels  ad- 

1  Compare  the  writer's  note  on  this  subject  in  Toting  Pao,  1915,  p.  200. 

'  See  above,  p.  7. 

•  This  term  corresponds  to  Sanskrit  devataru  ("tree  of  the  gods"),  a  designation 
for  the  five  miraculous  trees  to  be  found  in  Indra's  Heaven, —  kalpavr.iksha,  parijata, 
mandara,  samtana,  and  haricandana  (compare  Hopkins,  Journal  Am.  Or.  Soc, 
Vol.  XXX,  1910,  pp.  352,  353). 

4  "Tai  p'ing  yu  Ian,  Ch.  808,  p.  6  (the  Chinese  text  will  be  found  in  T'oung  Pao 
1915,  p.  202). 


20  The  Diamond 

here  to  the  flesh  which  is  devoured  by  the  birds,  while  the  puerile  inti- 
mation that  the  putrefaction  of  the  flesh  transforms  it  into  stone  is 
interpolated.  The  Fu-nan  merchants  had  come  to  China  from  the 
shores  of  western  India,  and  brought  from  there  the  expensive  crystal 
mirror.  With  it  came  the  story,  and  thus  some  form  of  the  legend  of 
the  Diamond  Valley  must  have  existed  in  the  western  part  of  India  at 
least  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  a.d.  Certainly  it  was  a 
much  fuller  and  more  intelligent  version  than  that  presented  to  us 
through  the  medium  of  the  Fu-nan  seafarers.  Be  this  as  it  may,  also 
India  took  its  place  in  this  universal  concert  of  Asiatic  nations;  and 
our  Chinese  text  has  fortunately  preserved  the  only  Indian  version 
thus  far  known,  and  now  first  revealed  and  explained.  It  is  most  in- 
teresting that  the  Indian  tradition  belongs  to  the  type  of  the  plain 
dramatic  version,  in  which  the  by-play  of  the  serpents  is  wanting;  so 
is  the  Garucla;  and  the  only  specific  Indian  traits  are  the  tree  of  the 
gods  and  the  Devaraja  Kubera.  Aside  from  these  incidents,  which 
are  inconclusive  in  stamping  the  legend  as  Indian  in  its  origin,  it 
thoroughly  tallies  with  that  of  Epiphanius.  For  this  and  also  chrono- 
logical reasons  it  follows  that  Fu-lin  was  the  centre  from  which  the 
legend  spread  simultaneously  to  India  and  China.  G.  Huet1  has  re- 
cently given  another  interesting  example  of  a  story  originating  in 
western  Asia,  a  weak  echo  of  which  was  carried  into  India. 

It  is  therefore  my  opinion  that  the  legend  of  the  Valley  of  Diamonds 
or  Precious  Stones  in  its  two  early  variations,  as  represented  by  Epi- 
phanius and  Pseudo-Aristotle,  whatever  its  antecedents  and  its  possible 
associations  with  earlier  stories  of  the  Herodotian  type  may  have  been, 
originated  in  the  Hellenistic  Orient,  and  was  propagated  from  this  centre 
to  China,  to  India,  to  the  Arabs,  and  to  Persia.  The  Chinese  tradition 
of  the  Liang  se  kung  tse  ki,  being  an  exact  parallel  to  that  of  Epiphanius 
and  approaching  it  more  closely  in  time  than  any  of  the  Arabic  and 
other  versions,  being  earlier  and  purer  than  that  of  Pseudo-Aristotle, 
presents  an  important  contribution  to  the  question,  and  shows  that 
traditions  of  Fu-lin  flowed  into  China  long  before  its  name  was  recorded 
in  her  official  annals.  The  Chinese  and  Indian  versions  bear  out  still 
another  significant  point  that  may  enable  us  to  reconstruct  the  original 
form  in  which  the  subject  was  propagated  in  the  Hellenistic  world.  .  It 
is  manifest  that  Epiphanius,  while  by  a  lucky  chance  our  earliest  source 
on  the  matter,  does  not  preserve  the  story  in  its  primeval  or  pure  form; 
he  pursues  a  theological  tendency  by  lining  it  up  in  his  discourse  on  the 

1  Le  conte  du  "mort  reconnaissant "  et  le  livre  de  Tobie  {Revue  de  I'histoire  des 
religions,  Vol.  LXXI,  1915,  pp.  1-29). 


Indestructibility  of  the  Diamond  21 

stones  in  the  breastplate  of  the  Jewish  High  Priest,  and  focuses  it  on 
the  hyacinth,  which  makes  for  too  narrow  a  specialization  to  be  credit- 
able to  the  original.  Certainly  Epiphanius  is  not  the  author  of  the 
story,  but  merely  its  propagandist;  it  was  folk-lore  of  his  time  which  he 
imbibed  and  employed  for  his  specific  purpose.  This  point  of  view  is 
upheld  by  our  Chinese  text,  which  records  the  story  as  a  tradition  com- 
ing from  the  Hellenistic  Orient,  and  which  clearly  indicates  also  its 
object.  The  precious  stones  of  anterior  Asia  had  always  wrought  an 
unbounded  fascination  on  the  minds  of  the  Chinese,  and  the  scope  of 
this  tradition  is  to  account  for  the  enormous  wealth  in  jewels  possessed 
by  the  country  Fu-lin.  Here  we  have  a  bit  of  humorous  wit,  as  offered 
by  the  inhabitants  of  Fu-lin  in  explanation  of  numerous  queries  ad- 
dressed to  them  by  foreign  traders :  it  was  a  story  freely  circulating  in 
Fu-lin,  not  centring  around  the  hyacinth,  but  relating  to  precious  stones 
in  the  widest  sense.  Such  appears  to  have  been  the  original  story,  and 
thus  it  is  preserved  to  us  by  the  Chinese.  That  Pseudo-Aristotle  and 
his  successors  (except  TifashI  with  his  relapse  into  the  hyacinth)  chose 
the  diamond,  is  easily  intelligible,  the  diamond  being  always  deemed 
the  foremost  and  most  valuable  of  all  precious  stones.1 

Indestructibility  of  the  Diamond. —  The  Taoist  adept  Ko 
Hung  (fourth  century  a.d.)  has  the  following  notice  on  the  diamond: 
"The  kingdom  of  Fu-nan  (Cambodja)  produces  diamonds  (kin  kang 
^J*)'])  which  are  capable  of  cutting  jade.  In  their  appearance  they 
resemble  fluor-spar.2  They  grow  on  stones  like  stalactites,3  on  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea  to  the  depth  of  a  thousand  feet.  Men  dive  in  search  for 
the  stones,  and  ascend  at  the  close  of  a  day.  The  diamond  when  struck 
by  an  iron  hammer  is  not  damaged;  the  latter,  on  the  contrary,  will  be 

1  J.  H.  Krause,  Pyrgoteles,  p.  29.  The  diamond  is  forestalled  in  the  text  of 
Epiphanius  by  the  reference  to  the  incombustible  property  of  the  stones. 

*  Ts'e  shi  ying  &?».&•,  thus  identified  by  D.  Hanbury,  Notes  on  Chinese  Materia 
Medica  {Pharmaceutical  Journal,  1861,  p.  no),  or  Science  Papers,  p.  218.  E.  Biot 
identified  it  with  rock-crystal  and  smoky  quartz  (Pauthier  and  Bazin,  Chine  mod- 
erne,  Vol.  II,  p.  556). 

8  Chung  ju  shi  !tfc*JS,  identified  by  D.  Hanbury  (/.  c),  with  carbonate 
of  lime  in  stalactitic  masses,  obtained  from  caves.  The  Chinese  name,  however, 
does  not  signify,  as  stated  by  Hanbury,  "hanging-  (like  a  bell)  milk-stone,"  but  the 
term  chung  ju  refers  to  the  mammillary  protuberances  or  knobs  on  the  ancient  Chinese 
bells  (see  Hirth,  Boas  Anniversary  Volume,  pp.  251,  257).  Giles  (No.  5691)  has 
the  name  in  the  form  shi  chung  ju,  "stone-bell  teats, —  stalactites."  Reduced  to  a 
powder  the  stone  is  used  as  a  tonic.  Compare  F.  Porter  Smith,  Contributions 
toward  the  Materia  Medica  of  China,  p.  204;  Geerts,  Produits  de  la  nature  japonaise 
et  chinoise,  p.  342;  F.  de  Mely,  Lapidaires  chinois,  pp.  92,  254.  Important  Chinese 
notes  on  this  mineral  are  contained  in  the  Yiin  lin  shi  p'u  of  Tu  Wan  (Ch.  c,  p.  8), 
Ling-wai  tai  to  of  1 178  by  Chou  K'u-fei  (Ch.  7,  p.  13),  and  Pin  ts'ao  kang  mu  (Ch.  9, 
p.  17b). 


22  The  Diamond 

spoiled.     If,  however,  a  blow  is  dealt  at  the  diamond  by  means  of  a 
ram's  horn,1  it  will  at  once  be  dissolved,  and  break  like  ice."2 

The  motive,  diamonds  being  fished  from  the  ocean,  is  an  old  Indian 
fable.  We  meet  it  in  the  Suppdraka-jdtaka,  No.  463  in  the  famous 
Pali  collection  of  Buddha's  birth-stories.  According  to  this  legend, 
the  diamonds  are  to  be  found  in  the  Khuramala  Sea.  The  Bodhisatva 
was  on  board  ship,  acting  as  skipper  for  a  party  of  merchants.  He 
reflected  that  if  he  told  them  this  was  a  diamond  sea,  they  would  sink 
the  ship  in  their  greed  by  collecting  the  diamonds.  So  he  told  them 
nothing;  but  having  brought  the  ship  to,  he  got  a  rope,  and  lowered  a 
net  as  if  to  catch  fish.  With  this  he  brought  in  a  haul  of  diamonds,  and 
stored  them  in  the  ship;  then  he  caused  the  wares  of  little  value  to  be 
cast  overboard.3  Of  course,  the  Indian  mineralogists  knew  better  than 
that,  and  even  enumerate  eight  sites  where  the  diamond  was  found.4 

1  According  to  another  reading,  "antelope,  or  chamois  horn"  (ling  yang  kio). 
The  latter  is  said  to  be  solid  and  to  occur  only  in  the  High-Rock  Mountains  (Kao  shi 
shan)  of  Annam  (Wu  li  siao  shi,  Ch.  8,  p.  21b;  and  T'u  shu  tsi  ch'ing,  Pien  i  lien, 
Annam,  hui  k'ao  6,  p.  8  b). 

8  Pin  ts'ao  kang  mu,  Ch.  10,  p.  12.  Compare  P.  Pelliot,  Le  Fou-nan  (Bull, 
de  VEcole  franqaise,  Vol.  Ill,  1903,  p.  281).  The  same  notice  has  been  embodied  in 
the  account  of  the  country  of  Fu-nan  contained  in  the  New  Annals  of  the  T'ang 
Dynasty  (T'ang  shu,  Ch.  222  b,  p.  2;  and  Pelliot,  /.  c,  p.  274).  Fu-nan,  of  course, 
did  not  produce  diamonds,  as  said  by  the  T'ang  Annals  in  this  passage,  but  imported 
them  from  India,  as  attested  by  a  statement  in  the  same  Annals  (T'ang  shu,  Ch. 
221  A,  p.  10  b)  to  the  effect  that  India  trades  diamonds  with  Ta  Ts'in  (the  Roman 
Orient),  Fu-nan,  and  Kiao-chi.  As  both  Indian  diamonds  and  legends  concerning 
them  were  encountered  by  the  Chinese  in  Fu-nan,  it  was  pardonable  for  them  to 
believe  that  diamonds  were  a  product  of  that  country.  Chao  Ju-kua  (translation  of 
Hirth  and  Rockhill,  p.  m)  says  that  the  diamond  of  India  will  not  melt,  though 
exposed  to  the  fire  a  hundred  times. 

3  E.  B.  Cowell,  The  Jataka,  Vol.  IV,  p.  88.  Compare  also  the  Tibetan  Dsang- 
lun,  Ch.  30  (I.  J.  Schmidt,  Der  Weise  und  der  Thor,  pp.  227  et  seq.) ;  and  Schiefner, 
Taranatha,  p.  43.  The  Hindu  mineralogists  entertain  also  the  notion  that  the 
diamond  floats  on  the  water  (L.  Finot,  Lapidaires  indiens,  p.  xlviii)  ;  and  there  is 
a  fabulous  account  of  a  diamond  of  marine  origin  in  the  Tsa  pao  tsang  king  (Bunyiu 
Nanjio,  Catalogue,  No.  1329;  Chavannes,  Cinq  cents  contes  et  apologues,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  1),  translated  from  Sanskrit  into  Chinese  in  a.d.  472.  A  merchant  from  southern 
India  who  had  an  expert  knowledge  of  pearls  traversed  several  kingdoms,  showing 
everywhere  a  pearl,  the  specific  qualities  of  which  nobody  could  recognize  till  he  met 
Buddha,  who  said,  "This  wishing-jewel  (cintamani)  originates  from  the  huge  fish 
makara,  whose  body  is  two  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  li  (Chinese  leagues)  long. 
The  name  of  this  gem  is  'hard  like  the  diamond'  (kin-kang  kien,  Chinese  rendering 
of  Sanskrit  vajrasara,  an  attribute  of  the  diamond).  It  has  the  property  of  producing 
at  once  precious  objects,  clothing,  and  food,  and  securing  everything  according  to 
one's  wish.  He  who  obtains  this  gem  cannot  be  hurt  by  poison,  or  be  burnt  by 
fire."  My  translation  is  based  on  the  text,  as  quoted  in  Yuan  kien  lei  han  (Ch.  364, 
p.  15b),  the  wording  of  which  to  some  extent  dissents  from  that  translated  by 
M.  Chavannes  (/.  c,  p.  77). 

4  L.  Finot,  Lapidaires  indiens,  p.  xxv. 


Indestructibility  of  the  Diamond  23 

In  the  Jataka,  the  notion  of  the  pearl  being  born  from  the  ocean1  has 
been  transferred  to  the  diamond.  Q.  Curtius  Rufus  echoes  this  native 
tradition  when,  in  his  description  of  India,  he  says  that  the  sea  casts  upon 
the  shores  precious  stones  and  pearls,  these  offscourings  of  the  boiling 
sea  being  valued  at  the  price  which  fashion  sets  on  coveted  luxuries.* 

The  Chinese  tradition  transmitted  from  Fu-nan  —  that  iron  does 
not  break  the  diamond,  but  that  the  latter  breaks  iron  —  is  reflected  in 
the  same  manner  by  Pliny,  who  says  that  the  stones  are  tested  upon 
the  anvil,  and  resist  the  blows  with  the  result  that  the  iron  rebounds,  and 
the  anvil  splits  asunder.8  This  certainly  is  pure  fiction  and  merely  a 
popular  illustration  of  the  hardness  of  the  stone.4  This  notion  has 
accordingly  migrated,  and  the  Physiologus  presents  the  missing  link 
between  East  and  West  by  asserting  that  the  diamond  cannot  be 
damaged  by  iron,  fire,  or  smoke.6  In  India  we  meet  the  same  test, 
inasmuch  as  a  diamond  is  regarded  as  genuine  if  it  is  struck  with  other 
stones  or  iron  hammers  without  bursting.6  The  fact  that  the  Arabic 
treatises  on  mineralogy  reiterate  the  same  story  need  not  be  discussed 
here;  for  the  account  of  Ko  Hung  is  far  older  than  these,  and  proves 
that  long  before  the  advent  of  the  Arabs  it  passed  from  India  to  Fu-nan 
and  from  Fu-nan  to  China. 

Discussing  the  phenomena  of  sympathy  and  apathy  ruling  in  nature, 
Pliny  sets  forth  that  this  indomitable  power  which  contemns  the  two 
most  violent  agents  of  nature,  iron  and  fire,7  is  broken  by  the  blood  of 

1  Ibid.,  p.  xxxii.     A  Sanskrit  epithet  of  the  pearl  is  samudraja  ("sea-born"). 

*  J.  W.  McCrindle,  Invasion  of  India  by  Alexander,  p.  187. 

1  Incudibus  hi  deprehenduntur  ita  respuentes  ictus  ut  ferrum  utrimque  dissultet. 
incudes  ipsae  etiam  exiliant  (xxxvn,  15,  §  57).  Compare  BLttMNER,  Technologie, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  230. 

4  The  diamond  is  hard,  but  not  tough,  and  can  easily  be  broken  with  the  blow  of 
a  hammer.  It  is  as  brittle  as  at  least  the  average  of  crystallized  minerals  (Far- 
rington,  Gems  and  Gem  Minerals,  p.  70).  The  fabulous  notion  of  the  ancients  was 
first  refuted  by  Garcia  da  Orta  (or,  ab  Horto),  in  his  work  on  the  Drugs  of  India, 
which  appeared  in  Portuguese  at  Goa  in  1563.  "It  is  out  of  the  question,"  he  says, 
"that  the  diamond  resists  the  hammer;  on  the  contrary,  it  can  be  pulverized  by  means 
of  a  small  hammer,  and  may  easily  be  pounded  in  a  mortar  with  an  iron  pestle, 
the  powder  being  used  for  the  grinding  of  other  diamonds"  (compare  J.  Ruska, 
Der  Diamant  in  der  Medizin,  Festschrift  Baas,  p.  129).  In  the  Italian  translation 
of  Garcia  (p.  182,  Venice,  1582)  the  passage  runs  thus:  "Non  e  il  vero,  che  il  diamante 
resista  alia  botta  del  martello,  percioche  con  ogni  picciolo  martello  si  riduce  in  polvere, 
e  con  grandissima  facilita  si  pesta  col  pistello  di  ferro;  e  in  questo  modo  lo  pestanb 
coloro,  che  con  la  sua  polvere  poliscono  gli  altri  diamanti." 

6  F.  Lauchert,  Geschichte  des  Physiologus,  p.  34. 

•  R.  Garbe,  Die  indischen  Mineralien,  p.  82. 

7  Pliny,  accordingly,  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  diamond  is  able  to  resist  fire, 
and  Dioscorides  (L.  Leclerc,  Traits  des  simples,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  272)  acquiesced  ia 


24  The  Diamond 

a  ram,  which,  however,  must  be  fresh  and  warm.  The  stone  must  be 
well  steeped  in  it,  and  receive  repeated  blows,  and  even  then  will  break 
anvils  and  iron  hammers  unless  they  be  of  excellent  temper.1  This 
fantasy  has  passed  into  the  writings  of  St.  Augustin,2  and,  further, 
into  our  mediaeval  poets,  who  interpreted  the  ram's  blood  as  the  blood 
of  Christ,  likewise  into  our  lapidaires.3 

this  belief.  Theophrastus  (De  lapidibus,  19;  opera  ed.  P.  Wimmer,  p.  343),  in  a 
passing  manner,  alludes  to  the  incombustibility  of  the  diamond  by  ascribing  the 
same  property  to  the  carbuncle  (anthrax) ;  the  lack  of  humidity  in  these  stones  renders 
them  impervious  to  fire  (compare  Krause,  Pyrgoteles,  p.  15  and  note  4).  Apol- 
lonius  Dyscolus,  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  century  a.d.  (Rerum  naturalium 
scriptores  Graeci  minores,  ed.  Keller,  Vol.  I,  p.  50),  says  that  the  diamond,  when 
exposed  to  a  fire,  is  not  heated. 

1  Siquidem  ilia  invicta  vis,  duarum  violentissimarum  naturae  rerum  ferri  ignium- 
que  contemptrix,  hircino  rumpitur  sanguine,  neque  aliter  quam  recenti  calidoque 
macerata  et  sic  quoque  multis  ictibus,  tunc  etiam  praeterquam  eximias  incudes 
malleosque  ferreos  frangens  (ibid.,  §  59);  also  in  the  same  work,  xx,  procemium: 
sanguine  hircino  rumpente. 

2  Qui  lapis  nee  ferro  nee  igni  nee  alia  vi  ulla  perhibetur  praeter  hircinum  sangui- 
nem  vinci  (De  civitate  Dei,  xxi,  4).  Also  Isidorus,  Origines,  xn,  1,  14;  and  Mar- 
bodus,  De  lapidibus  pretiosis,  1. 

8  F.  Lauchert,  Geschichte  des  Physiologus,  p.  179.  L.  Pannier  (Les  Lapidaires 
frangais  du  moyen  age,  p.  36): 

"Par  fer  ne  par  fou  n'iert  ovt66 
S'el  sang  del  buc  chiald  n'est  tempr£e7' 
F.  Pfeiffer,  Buch  der  Natur  von  Konrad  von  Megenberg,  p.  433;  Albertus 
Magnus,  De  virtutibus  lapidum,  p.  135  (Amstelodami,  1669).  The  origin  of  the 
Plinian  story  is  hard  to  explain,  as  there  is  no  other  ancient  or  Oriental  source  that 
contains  it.  C.  W.  King  (Antique  Gems,  p.  107)  thinks  it  is  a  jeweller's  story,  prob- 
ably invented  to  keep  up  the  mystery  of  the  business.  Blumner  (Technologie, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  231)  supposes  either  that  the  ancient  lapidaries  really  used  ram's  blood 
in  good  faith,  without  examining  whether  the  diamond  could  also  be  broken  without 
it,  or  that  they  merely  pretended  such  a  procedure  to  the  laymen  as  an  alleged  artifice 
of  their  trade.  These  rationalistic  speculations,  unsupported  by  evidence,  are 
unsatisfactory.  More  plausible  is  the  view  of  E.  O.  VON  Lippmann  (Abhandlungen 
und  Vortrage,  Vol.  I,  p.  83),  that  the  blood  of  the  ram,  owing  to  the  sensual  lust  of 
this  animal,  was  regarded  as  particularly  hot.  As  is  well  known,  a  ram  was  the 
animal  sacred  to  Bacchus  (O.  Keller,  Antike  Tierwelt,  Vol.  I,  p.  305);  and  ram's 
blood  was  a  remedy  administered  in  cases  of  dysentery  (F.  de  Mely,  Lapidaires 
grecs,  p.  92).  What  merits  special  attention,  however,  is  that  Capricorn  as  asterisk 
of  the  zodiac,  according  to  Manilius,  belonged  to  Vesta;  and  that  everything  in  need 
of  fire,  like  mines,  working  of  metals,  even  bakery,  was  under  its  influence.  More- 
over, in  ancient  astrology,  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac  are  associated  with  twelve 
precious  stones,  and  in  this  series  adamas  belongs  to  Capricorn  (see  the  list  in  F.  Boll, 
Stoicheia,  No.  1,  p.  40).  The  idea  of  ram's  blood  acting  upon  the  diamond,  therefore, 
seems  to  be  finally  traceable  to  an  astrological  origin.  A  curious  custom  relating  to 
ram's  horn  is  reported  by  Strabo  (xvi,  4,  §  17).  When  the  Troglodytae  of  Ethiopia 
bury  their  dead,  some  of  them  bind  the  corpse  from  the  neck  to  the  legs  with  twigs 
of  the  buckthorn  [Paliurus;  an  infusion  of  this  plant,  according  to  Strabo,  forms  the 
drink  of  these  people  in  general].  They  at  once  throw  stones  over  the  body,  at  the 
same  time  laughing  and  rejoicing,  until  they  have  covered  its  face.     Thereupon 


Indestructibility  of  the  Diamond  25 

That  our  Chinese  text  above  speaks  of  a  ram's  horn  may  be  due  to 
the  fact  that  this  modification  was  caused  by  the  error  of  a  scribe  or 
by  some  misunderstanding  of  the  Western  tradition  regarding  ram's 
blood.  More  probably  the  people  of  Fu-nan  (Cambodja),  or  even  of 
India,  are  responsible  for  the  alteration,  which  in  this  form  was  then 
picked  up  by  the  Chinese.  The  adequateness  of  the  latter  interpreta- 
tion follows  from  an  interesting  passage  in  the  book  Hiian  chung  ki  of 
the  fifth  century,  quoted  by  Li  Shi-chen,  which  concludes  a  notice  of 
the  diamond  with  the  statement  that  in  the  countries  of  the  West  the 
nature  of  Buddha  is  metaphorically  likened  to  the  diamond,  and  ram's 
horn  to  the  "impurity  of  passion"  (fan  nao  flf  f£).  This  compound  is  a 
technical  Buddhist  term,  being  a  translation  of  Sanskrit  kleqa-kashaya, 
the  third  of  a  series  of  five  kashaya,  five  impurities  or  spheres  of  corrup- 
tion.1 Taken  individually,  these  two  emblematic  figures  of  speech  are 
unobjectionable;  but  what  would  it  mean,  that  a  ram's  horn,  symbolic 
of  the  impurity  of  passion,  can  break  the  Buddha,  who  has  the  nature 
of  the  diamond?  This,  from  a  Buddhistic  angle,  is  unintelligible;  the 
opposite  would  be  true.  The  foundation  of  this  symbolism,  plainly, 
cannot  be  of  Buddhistic  origin;  but  the  impetus  was  apparently  received 
from  a  Christian  source,  and  was  re-interpreted  in  India.     The  matter 

they  place  over  it  a  ram's  horn  and  go  away.  In  this  case  the  ram's  horn  doubtless 
figures  also  as  an  instrument  of  extraordinary  strength :  it  overpowers  the  body  and 
soul  of  the  deceased,  keeping  his  spirit  down  and  preventing  it  from  a  return  to 
the  former  home,  where  it  might  do  harm  to  the  survivors.  Therefore  the  mourners 
rejoice  in  accomplishing  their  purpose.  Ram's  heads  were  extensively  employed  in 
Greek  art  (H.  Winnefeld,  Altgriech.  Bronzebecken  aus  Leontini,  Progr.  Winckel- 
mannsfest,  No.  59,  1899).  Ball's  opinion  that  ram's  blood  is  the  outcome  of  Indian 
sacrifices  held  on  the  opening  of  a  mine,  discussed  above  on  p.  15,  is  untenable, 
as  there  is  no  Indian  tradition  connecting  the  diamond  with  ram's  blood.  The 
baselessness  of  this  theory  is  further  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  the  Chinese  have 
altered  the  classical  "ram's  blood"  into  a  "ram's  horn;"  and  the  Chinese  account 
hailed  from  Fu-nan  (Cambodja),  a  country  with  a  strong  impact  of  Indian  civiliza- 
tion. The  transformation,  therefore,  seems  to  have  been  effected  in  an  Indian 
region.  For  this  reason  it  is  impossible  to  seek  the  origin  of  this  idea  in  India,  where 
apparently  it  was  not  understood  and  was  changed  into  a  "horn,"  which  appears  to 
have  been  regarded  there  as  stronger  than  blood.  As  to  the  classical  idea  of  heat 
suggested  by  ram's  blood,  it  is  noteworthy,  however,  that  in  late  Indian  art,  Agni, 
the  God  of  Fire,  is  represented  as  riding  on  a  gray  goat,  flames  of  fire  streaming  round 
about  him,  his  crown  also  being  surrounded  by  fire  (B.  Ziegenbalg,  Genealogy  of 
the  South-Indian  Gods,  p.  191,  Madras,  1869).  Thus  the  conception  of  the  ram  or 
goat  as  an  animal  of  fire  is  brought  out, —  a  fire  of  such  vehemence  as  to  subdue 
the  hardest  body  of  nature. 

1  See  Eitel,  Handbook  of  Chinese  Buddhism,  p.  67;  Chavannes,  Cinq  cents 
contes  et  apologues,  Vol.  I,  p.  17;  and  O.  Franke,  Chin.  Tempelinschrift,  p.  51. 
F.  de  Mely  (Lapidaires  chinois,  p.  124)  incorrectly  understands  that  "in  India  the 
nature  of  Buddha  is  compared  with  the  diamond ;  and  his  sadness,  with  the  horn  of 
the  antelope  ling." 


26  The  Diamond 

will  only  become  intelligible  if  we  substitute  "ram's  blood"  for  "ram's 
horn"  and  interpret  "ram's  blood"  as  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  the 
Christian  Saviour.  This  symbolic  explanation  has  indeed  been  attached 
in  the  West  to  Pliny's  ram's  blood  subduing  the  diamond.  The  idea  is 
not  found  in  the  Physiologus,  which  compares  the  diamond  itself  with 
Christ  (analogous  to  Buddha  as  the  diamond),  but  it  turns  up  in  the 
mediaeval  poets.  Frauenlob  explains  the  destruction  of  the  diamond 
through  buck's  blood  as  the  salvation,  saying  that  the  adamas  (diamond) 
of  the  hard  curse  was  broken  by  the  blood  of  Christ.1 

Diamond  and  Lead. —  Dioscorides  of  the  first  century  a.d.  observes 
on  the  diamond,  "It  is  one  of  the  properties  of  the  diamond  to  break 
the  stones  against  which  it  is  brought  into  contact  and  pressed.  It 
acts  alike  on  all  bodies  of  the  nature  of  stone,  with  the  exception  of  lead. 
Lead  attacks  and  subdues  it.  While  it  resists  fire  and  iron,  it  allows 
itself  to  be  broken  by  lead,  and  this  is  the  expedient  employed  to  pul- 
verize it."2 

The  oldest  Arabic  book  on  stones,  sailing  under  the  flag  of  Aristotle, 
reports  in  the  chapter  on  the  diamond,  probably  drawing  from  Dios- 
corides, that  it  cannot  be  overpowered  by  any  other  stone  save  lead, 
which  is  capable  of  pulverizing  it.8 

In  a  Syriac  and  Arabic  treatise  on  alchemy  of  the  ninth  or  tenth 
century,  edited  and  translated  by  R.  Duval,  it  is  said  that  lead  makes 
the  diamond  suffer;  the  translator  understands  this  in  the  sense  that 
lead  serves  for  the  working  of  the  diamond,  adding  in  a  note  that  one 
worked  the  diamond  and  other  precious  stones,  enclosed  in  sheets  of 
lead,  by  means  of  ruby  or  diamond  dust.4  The  action  of  lead  on  the 
diamond  certainly  is  imaginary.  This  idea  conveys  the  impression  of 
having  received  its  impetus  from  the  circle  of  the  alchemists.  Muham- 
med  Ibn  Mansur,  who  wrote  a  treatise  on  mineralogy  in  Persian  during 
the  thirteenth  century,  says  regarding  this  point,  "On  the  anvil,  the 
diamond  is  not  broken  under  the  hammer,  but  rather  penetrates  into 
the  anvil.  In  order  to  break  the  diamond,  it  is  placed  between  lead, 
the  latter  being  struck  with  a  mallet,  whereupon  the  stone  is  broken. 
Others,   instead   of  using   lead,   envelop    the    diamond  in   resin   or 

1  Compare  F.  Lauchert,  Geschichte  des  Physiologus,  p.  179.  In  the  Cathedral 
of  Troyes  there  is  a  sculpture  from  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century,  representing  the 
Lamb  of  God  under  the  unusual  form  of  a  ram  with  large  horns  and  bearing  the  Cross 
of  the  Resurrection.  A.  N.  Didron  (Christian  Iconography,  Vol.  I,  pp.  325,  326) 
styles  this  work  a  "most  unaccountable  anomaly,"  but  the  symbolism  set  forth  above 
surely  accounts  for  it. 

1  L.  Leclerc,  Traite  des  simples,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  272. 

*  J.  Ruska,  Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  p.  149  (compare  p.  76). 

4  M.  Berthelot,  La  chimie  au  moyen  age,  Vol.  II,  pp.  124,  136. 


Diamond  and  Lead  27 

wax."1  The  Armenian  lapidarium  of  the  seventeenth  century2  is  most 
explicit  on  the  matter:  "The  diamond  is  bruised  by  means  of  lead  in 
the  following  manner:  lead  is  hammered  out  into  a  foil,  on  which  the 
diamond  is  put;  and  when  completely  wrapped  up  with  it,  it  is  placed  on 
an  iron  anvil,  the  lead  being  struck  with  an  iron  hammer.  The  diamond 
crumbles  into  pieces  from  these  blows,  but  remains  in  the  leaden  foil, 
and  is  not  dispersed  into  various  directions,  as  it  is  prevented  from  so 
doing  by  the  ductility  of  the  lead.  Released  from  the  latter,  the  broken 
diamond  is  fit  for  work.  In  want  of  lead,  the  diamond  is  covered  with 
wax  and  wrapped  up  in  twelve  layers  of  paper,  whereupon  it  is  smashed 
by  hammer-blows.  In  order  to  secure  it  in  pure  condition  and  without 
loss,  the  whole  mass  is  flung  into  boiling  water,  causing  the  wax  to  melt, 
the  paper  to  float  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  the  diamond-splinters 
to  sink  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.  Then  it  is  pounded  in  a  steel  mortar 
and  is  at  once  ready  for  industrial  purposes.  With  this  pounded 
diamond  (diamond-dust)  the  jewellers  polish  good  and  coarse  dia- 
monds." The  practical  object  in  the  use  of  lead  is  here  clearly  indicated ; 
but  what  appears  in  this  work  of  recent  date  as  a  merely  technical 
process  was  in  its  origin  a  superstitious  act,  as  is  explained  by  Tifashi, 
who  wrote  toward  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century.  According  to 
this  author,  the  diamond,  as  stated  by  Pliny,  is  a  golden  stone;  and  in 
the  same  manner  as  gold  is  affected  by  lead,  lead  is  able  to  pulverize 
the  diamond.3 

This  Western  idea  has  likewise  migrated  into  China,  and  turns  up  in 
the  Tan  fang  kien  yuan,  an  alchemical  work  by  Tu  Ku-t'ao  of  the  Sung 
period,  according  to  whom  lead  can  reduce  the  diamond  to  fragments.4 
This  author  terms  the  stone  "metal-hard  awl  or  drill"  (kin  kang  tsuan 
^P)']!^);  that  is,  "diamond-point"  (kin  kang  being  the  usual  name 
for  the  diamond).    According  to  Li  Shi-ch&n,  the  author  of  the  Pin 


XJ.  von  Hammer,  Fundgruben  des  Orients,  Vol.  VI,  p.  132  (Wien,  1818);  M. 
Clement-Mullot,  Essai  sur  la  min^ralogie  arabe,  p.  131  (Journal  asiatique,  6th 
series,  Vol.  XI,  1868).  Al-Akfanl  expresses  himself  in  a  similar  manner  (Wiede- 
mann, Zur  Mineralogie  im  Islam,  p.  218). 

1  Russian  translation  of  K.  P.  Patkanov,  p.  1. 

1  A.  Raineri  Biscia,  Fior  di  pensieri,  p.  53  (2d  ed.,  Bologna,  1906). 

4  Pin  ts'ao  kang  mu,  Ch.  10,  p.  12.  The  author  speaks  of  a  certain  kind  of  lead 
styled  "lead  with  purple  back"  (tse  pei  yuan  &^|o),  in  regard  to  which  the  Pin 
ts'ao  kang  mu  only  says  that  it  is  a  variety  of  lead  very  pure  and  hard,  able  to  cut 
the  diamond  (compare  Geerts,  Les  produits  de  la  nature  japonaise  et  chinoise, 
p.  605).  Geerts  annotates,  "  Ceci  est  une  de  ces  absurdity  que  Ton  trouve  si  souvent 
chez  les  auteurs  chinois  a 'cote1  de  renseignements  exacts  et  utiles."  Certainly,  the 
Chinese  are  not  responsible  for  this  "absurdity,"  which  comes  straight  from  our 
classical  antiquity. 


28  The  Diamond 

ts'ao  kang  mu,  this  name  first  occurs  in  the  dictionary  Shi  ming,  while 
the  usual  mineralogical  designation  is  kin  kang  shi  ("metal-hard  stone"). 
Also  Pseudo- Aristotle  has  the  diamond  "boring"  all  kinds  of  stones  and 
pearls,  and  Qazwlni  styles  it  a  "borer."  Li  Shi-cheri  says  that  "by 
means  of  diamond-sand  jade  can  be  perforated  and  porcelain  repaired, 
hence  the  name  awl  (tsuan)."1  An  interesting  analogy  to  this  con- 
ception occurs  in  the  Arabic  stories  of  Sindbad  the  Sailor,  dating  in 
the  ninth  century.  Sindbad  tells,  "Walking  along  the  valley  I  found 
that  its  soil  was  of  diamond,  the  stone  wherewith  they  pierce  jewels 
and  precious  stones  and  porcelain  and  onyx,  for  that  it  is  a  hard  dense 
stone,  whereon  neither  iron  nor  steel  has  effect,  neither  can  we  cut  off 
aught  therefrom  nor  break  it,  save  by  means  of  the  load-stone."  We 
shall  now  discuss  one  of  the  most  interesting  problems  bearing  on  the 
diamond, —  the  ancient  employment  of  the  diamond-point. 

The  Diamond-Point. —  In  the  book  going  under  the  name  of  the 
alleged  philosopher  Lie-tse,  which  in  the  text  now  before  us  is  hardly 
earlier  than  the  Han  period,  we  read  the  following  story:2  "When  King 
Mu  of  the  Chou  Dynasty  (1001-945  B.C.)  was  on  an  expedition  against 
the  Western  Jung,  the  latter  presented  him  with  a  sword  of  kun-wu 
^tt-^%^^-^  and  with  fire-proof  cloth  (asbestos).  The  sword  was  one 
foot  and  eight  inches  in  length,  was  forged  from  steel,  and  had  a  red 
blade;  when  handled,  it  would  cut  hard  stone  (jade)  as  though  it  were 
merely  clayish  earth."  The  object  of  these  notes  is  to  discuss  the  nature 
of  the  substance  kun-wu.  Asbestine  stuffs  were  received  by  the  Chinese 
from  the  Roman  Orient,  and  likewise  the  curious  tales  connected  with 
them.  If  asbestos  came  from  that  direction,  our  first  impression  in 
the  matter  is  that  also  the  substance  kun-wu  appears  to  have  been  de- 
rived from  the  same  quarter;  and  this  supposition  will  be  proved  correct 
by  a  study  of  Chinese  traditions. 

1  It  is  interesting  that  the  Chinese,  while  they  worked  jade  and  porcelain,  and, 
as  will  be  seen  farther  below,  also  pearls,  by  means  of  diamond-points,  did  not  know 
the  fact  that  the  latter  can  cut  glass, —  perhaps  merely  for  the  reason  that  they 
never  understood  how  to  make  plate-glass.  The  ancients  did  not  cut  glass,  either, 
with  the  diamond,  and  this  practice  does  not  seem  to  have  originated  before  the 
sixteenth  century  (compare  Beckmann,  Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  der  Erfindungen, 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  543).  In  recent  times,  however,  the  Chinese  applied  the  diamond  also 
to  glass.  Archdeacon  Gray,  in  his  interesting  book  Walks  in  the  City  of  Canton 
(p.  238,  Hongkong,  1875),  tells  how  the  glaziers  of  Canton  cut  with  a  diamond  the 
designs  traced  with  ink  upon  the  surface  of  glass  globes  and  readily  effect  this  labor 
by  running  the  diamond  along  these  ink-lines. 

2  Ch.  5,  T'ang  win,  at  the  end  (compare  E.  Faber,  Naturalismus  bei  den  alten 
Chinesen,  p.  132;  L.  Wieger,  Peres  du  systeme  taoiste,  p.  149;  A.  Wylie,  Chinese 
Researches,  pt.  m,  p.  142).  The  work  of  Lie-tse  is  first  mentioned  as  a  book  in  eight 
chapters  in  Ts'ien  Han  shu  (Ch.  30,  p.  12  b). 


The  Diamond-Point  29 

The  kun-wu  sword  of  Lie-tse  has  repeatedly  tried  the  ingenuity  of 
sinologues.  Hirth,1  who  accepted  the  text  at  its  surface  value,  re- 
garded this  sword  as  the  oldest  example  in  Chinese  records  of  a  weapon 
made  from  iron  or  steel ;  and  while  the  passage  could  not  be  regarded  as 
testimony  for  the  antiquity  of  the  sword-industry  in  China,  it  seems  to 
him  to  reflect  the  legendary  views  of  that  epoch  and  to  hint  at  the  fact 
that  the  forging  of  swords  in  the  iron-producing  regions  of  the  north-west 
of  China  was  originally  invested  in  the  hands  of  the  Huns.  Thus 
Hirth  finally  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  the  kun-wu  sword  may 
actually  mean  "sword  of  the  Huns."  Faber,  the  first  translator  of 
Lie-tse,  regarded  it  as  a  Damascus  blade;  and  Forke2  accepted  this 
view.  F.  Porter  Smith3  was  the  first  to  speak  of  a  kun-wu  stone, 
intimating  that  "extraordinary  stories  are  told  of  a  stone  called  kun-wu, 
large  enough  to  be  made  into  a  knife,  very  brilliant,  and  able  to  cut 
gems  with  ease."  He  also  grouped  this  stone  correctly  with  the  dia- 
mond, but  did  not  cope  with  the  problem  involved. 

The  Shi  chou  ki  ("Records  of  Ten  Insular  Realms"),  a  fantastic 
description  of  foreign  lands,  attributed  to  the  Taoist  adept  Tung-fang 
So,  who  was  born  in  168  B.C.,4  has  the  following  story:  " On  the  Floating 
Island  (Liu  chou)  which  is  situated  in  the  Western  Ocean  is  gathered  a 
quantity  of  stones  called  kun-wu  tL  -§-^5  •  When  fused,  this  stone 
turns  into  iron,  from  which  are  made  cutting-instruments  brilliant  and 
reflecting  light  like  crystal,  capable  of  cutting  through  objects  of  hard 
stone  (jade)  as  though  they  were  merely  clayish  earth."6 

Li  Shi-ch£n,  in  his  Pen  ts'ao  kang  tnu*  quotes  the  same  story  in  his 
notice  of  the  diamond,  and  winds  up  with  the  explanation  that  the 
kun-wu  stone  is  the  largest  of  diamonds.  The  text  of  the  Shi  chou  ki, 
as  quoted  by  him,  offers  an  important  variant.  According  to  his 
reading,  kun-wu  stones  occur  in  the  Floating  Sand  (Liu-sha)  of  the 
Western  Ocean.7    The  latter  term,  as  already  shown,  in  the  Chinese 

1  Chinesische  Ansichten  uber  Bronzetrommeln,  pp.  20,  21. 

1  Mitteilungen  des  Seminars,  Vol.  VII,  I,  p.  162.  This  opinion  was  justly  criti- 
cised by  the  late  E.  Huber  {Bull,  de  I'Ecolefrancaise,  Vol.  IV,  p.  1 129). 

1  Contributions  toward  the  Materia  Medica  of  China,  p.  75. 

4  The  work  is  adopted  in  the  Taoist  Canon  (L.  Wieger,  Taoisme,  Vol.  I,  No.  593). 
The  authorship  of  Tung-fang  So  is  purely  legendary,  and  the  book  is  doubtless 
centuries  later.  Exactly  the  same  text  is  given  also  in  the  Lung  yii  ho  t'u  (quoted  in 
Yuan  kien  lei  han,  Ch.  323,  p.  1;  and  in  the  commentary  to  Shi  ki,  Ch.  117,  p.  2  b), 
a  work  which  appears  to  have  existed  in  the  fourth  or  fifth  century  (see  Bretschnei- 
der,  Bot.  Sin.,  pt.  1,  No.  500). 

6  P'ei  win  yunfu,  Ch.  100  A,  p.  16;  or  Yuan  kien  lei  han,  Ch.  26,  p.  32  b. 
'Ch.  10,  p.  12. 

7  Also  the  Wu  li  siao  shi  (Ch.  8,  p.  22)  has  this  reading. 


3©  The  Diamond 

records  relative  to  the  Hellenistic  Orient,  refers  to  the  Mediterranean; 
and  Liu-sha  is  well  known  as  a  geographical  term  of  somewhat  vague 
definition,  first  used  in  the  Annals  of  the  Later  Han  Dynasty,  and  said 
to  be  in  the  west  of  Ta  Ts'in,  the  Chinese  designation  of  the  Roman 
Orient.1  Liu-sha,  in  my  opinion,  is  the  model  of  Liu  chou,  the  Floating 
Island  being  distilled  from  Floating  Sand  in  favor  of  the  Ten  Islands 
mechanically  constructed  in  that  fabulous  book.  Accordingly,  we  have 
here  a  distinct  tradition  relegating  the  kun-wu  stone  to  the  Anterior 
Orient;  and  Li  Shi-ch&i's  identification  with  the  diamond  appears 
plausible  to  a  high  degree.  His  opinion  is  strongly  corroborated  by 
another  text  cited  by  him.  This  is  the  Hilan  chung  ki  by  Kuo2  of  the 
fifth  century,  who  reports  as  follows:  "The  country  of  Ta  Ts'in  pro- 
duces diamonds  (kin-kang),  termed  also  'jade-cutting  swords  or  knives.' 
The  largest  reach  a  length  of  over  a  foot,  the  smallest  are  of  the  size  of 
a  rice  or  millet  grain.3  Hard  stone  can  be  cut  by  means  of  it 
all  round,  and  on  examination  it  turns  out  that  it  is  the  largest  of 
diamonds.  This  is  what  the  Buddhist  priests  substitute  for  the  tooth 
of  Buddha." 4    Chou  Mi,  quoted  above  regarding  the  legend  of  the  Dia- 

1  Hirth,  China  and  the  Roman  Orient,  pp.  42,  292.  F.  de  Mely  (Lapidaires 
chinois,  p.  124)  translates  "River  Liu  sha,"  and  omits  the  "Western  Ocean."  The 
term  Liu-sha  existed  in  early  antiquity  and  occurs  for  the  first  time  in  the  Shu  king, 
chap.  Yii  kung  (Legge,  Chinese  Classics,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  132,  133,  150),  denoting  the 
then  known  farthest  west  of  the  country,  the  desert  extending  west  of  the  district 
of  Tun-huang  in  Kan-su.  It  is  cited  also  in  the  elegy  Li  sao  by  Ku  Yuan  (xin,  89; 
Legge,  Journal  R.  As.  Soc,  1895,  pp.  595,  863),  in  the  records  of  the  Buddhist  pil- 
grims (Chavannes,  Religieux  eminents,  p.  12),  and  in  the  memoirs  of  the  mediaeval 
travellers  (Bretschneider,  Mediaeval  Researches,  Vol.  I,  p.  27;  Vol.  II,  p.  144). 
See  also  Pelliot,  Journal  asiatique,  19 14  (Mai-Juin),  p.  505. 

2  His  personal  name  is  unknown. 

3  Pliny  (xxxvii,  15,  §  57)  speaks  of  a  kind  of  diamond  as  large  as  a  grain  of 
millet  (milii  magnitudine)  and  called  cenchros;  that  is,  the  Greek  word  for  "millet." 

4  F.  de  Mely  (Lapidaires'chinois,  p.  124)  incorrectly  understands  by  this  passage 
that  the  bonzes  of  India  adorn  with  diamonds  the  tooth  of  Buddha.  In  fact,  a  dia- 
mond itself  was  passed  off  as  Buddha's-tooth  relic.  A  specific  case  to  this  effect  is 
on  record:  "In  the  peiiod  Cheng-kuan  (627-650)  there  was  a  Brahmanic  priest 
who  asserted  that  he  had  obtained  a  tooth  of  Buddha  which  when  struck  resisted  any 
blow  with  unheard-of  strength.  Fu  Yi  heard  of  it,  and  said  to  his  son,  '  It  is  not 
a  tooth  of  Buddha;  I  have  heard  that  the  diamond  (kin-kang  shi)  is  the  strongest  of 
all  objects,  that  nothing  can  resist  it,  and  that  only  an  antelope-horn  can  break  it; 
you  may  proceed  to  make  the  experiment  by  knocking  it,  and  it  will  crash  and 
break'  "  (P'ei  win  yiinfu,  Ch.  100  A,  p.  40  b).  Fu  Yi,  who  was  a  resolute  opponent 
of  Buddhism  and  was  raised  to  the  office  of  grand  historiographer  by  the  founder  of 
the  T'ang  dynasty  (he  died  in  639;  see  Memoir es  concernant  les  Chinois,  Vol.  V, 
pp.  122,  159;  Legge,  Journal  Roy.  As.  Soc,  1893,  p.  800),  was  certainly  right. 
Compare  H.  Dore,  Recherches  sur  les  superstitions  en  Chine,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  310. 
Also  Palladius  (Chinese-Russian  Dictionary,  Vol.  II,  p.  203  a)  is  inexact  in  saying 
that  the  Buddhists  passed  off  the  diamond  as  Buddha's  tooth  in  China,  where  the 
diamond   was   unknown.     Regarding   Buddha's-tooth   relic,   besides   the  various 


The  Diamond-Point 


3i 


mond  Valley,  states,  "  The  workers  in  jade  polish  jade  by  the  persevering 
application  of  river-gravel,  and  carve  it  by  means  of  a  diamond-point. 
Its  shape  is  like  that  of  the  ordure  of  rodents;1  it  is  of  very  black  color, 
and  is  at  once  like  stone  and  like  iron."  Chou  Mi  apparently  speaks 
of  the  impure,  black  form  of  the  diamond,  which  is  still  used  by  us  for 
industrial  purposes,  the  tipping  of  drills  and  similar  boring-instruments.* 
These  texts  render  it  sufficiently  clear  that  the  kun-wu  stone  of  the  Shi 
chou  ki,  which  is  found  in  the  Hellenistic  Orient,  is  the  diamond,8  and 
that  the  cutting-instrument  made  from  it  is  a  diamond-point.  The 
alleged  transmutation  of  the  stone  into  iron  is  further  elucidated  by  the 
much-discussed  passage  of  Pliny,  "When  by  a  lucky  chance  the  diamond 
happens  to  be  broken,  it  is  triturated  into  such  minute  splinters  that 
they  can  hardly  be  sighted.  These  are  much  demanded  by  gem- 
engravers  and  are  enclosed  in  iron.  There  is  no  hard  substance  that 
they  could  not  easily  cut  by  means  of  this  instrument."  4 


accounts  of  Huan  Tsang,  see  Fa  Hien,  Ch.  38  (Legge,  Record  of  Buddhistic  King- 
doms, pp.  105-107);  Chavannes,  M6moire  sur  les  religieux  6minents,  p.  55;  de 
Groot,  Album  Kern,  p.  134;  Yule  and  Cordier,  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo,  Vol.  II, 
PP-  3*9.  329-330.  etc.  The  Pah  Chronicle  of  Ceylon  describes  a  statue  of  Buddha, 
in  which  the  body  and  members  were  made  of  jewels  of  different  colors;  the  com- 
mentary adds  that  the  teeth  were  made  of  diamonds  (W.  Geiger,  Mahavamsa, 
p.  204).  It  accordingly  was  an  Indian  idea  (not  an  artifice  conceived  in  China) 
that  the  diamond  could  be  substituted  for  Buddha's  tooth.  It  is  curious  that 
Pseudo- Aristotle  warns  against  taking  the  diamond  in  the  mouth,  because  it  destroys 
the  teeth  (Ruska,  Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  p.  150).  The  poet  Su  Shi  (1036-1101), 
in  his  work  Wu  lei  siang  kan  chi  (Wylie,  Notes,  p.  165),  remarks  that  antelope- 
horn  is  able  to  break  Buddha's  tooth  to  pieces;  in  this  case,  Buddha's  tooth  is  a 
synonyme  for  the  diamond,  and  we  have  an  echo  of  Ko  Hung's  legend  above  referred 
to  (p.  21). 

1  Shu  shi  9*K,  incorrectly  rendered  by  F.  de  Mely  (Lapidaires  chinois,  p.  124) 
by  "arrow-point."  The  word  shi  is  here  not  "arrow,"  but  "ordure,  dung"  (shi  in 
the  third  tone) ;  the  text  of  the  Wu  li  siao  shi  indeed  writes  shi  M. .  which  is  the  prop- 
er character;  and  Ko  chi  king  yuan  (Ch.  33,  p.  3  b),  in  quoting  the  same  text  of  Chou 
Mi,  offers  the  variant  shufin  fltJL  which  has  the  same  meaning. 

1  Known  in  the  trade  as  "bort," —  defective  diamonds  or  fragments  of  diamonds 
which  are  useless  as  gems. 

*  The  reflective  and  refractive  power  of  the  diamond  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
definition  of  that  book,  "brilliant  and  reflecting  light  like  crystal."  The  coincidence 
with  Pliny's  (xxxvii,  15,  §  56)  description  of  the  Indian  adamas  is  remarkable, 
"which  occurs  not  in  gold,  but  in  a  substance  somewhat  cognate  to  crystal,  not 
differing  from  the  latter  in  its  transparent  coloration"  (Indici  non  in  auro  nascentis 
et  quadam  crystalli  cognatione,  siquidem  et  colore  tralucido  non  differt).  The 
opinion  that  diamond,  according  to  its  composition,  was  a  glass-like  stone  of  the 
nature  of  rock-crystal,  prevailed  in  Europe  till  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
when  it  was  refuted  by  Bergmann  in  1777,  and  experiments  demonstrated  that  the 
diamond  is  a  combustible  body  (F.  von  Kobell,  Geschichte  der  Mineralogie,  p.  388). 

4  Cum  feliciter  contigit  rumpere,  in  tam  parvas  friatur  crustas,  ut  cerni  vix 
possint.    Expetuntur  hae  scalptoribus  ferroque  includuntur,  nullam  non  duritiam 


32  The  Diamond 

Dioscorides  of  the  first  century  a.d.  distinguishes  four  kinds  of 
diamonds,  the  third  of  which  is  called  "ferruginous"  because  it  re- 
sembles iron,  but  iron  is  heavier;  it  is  found  in  Yemen.  According  to 
him,  the  adamantine  fragments  are  stuck  into  iron  handles,  being  thus 
ready  to  perforate  stones,  rubies,  and  pearls.1  The  concept  of  a  mysteri- 
ous association  of  the  diamond  with  iron  survived  till  our  middle  ages. 
Konrad  von  Megenberg,  in  his  Book  of  Nature,  written  in  1349-50,2 
observes  that,  according  to  the  treatises  on  stones,  the  virtue  of  the 
diamond  is  much  greater  if  its  foundation  be  made  of  iron,  in  case  it  is 
to  be  set  in  a  ring;  but  the  ring  should  be  of  gold  to  be  in  keeping  with  the 
dignity  of  the  stone. 

If  we  now  glance  back  at  the  text  of  Lie-tse,  from  which  we  started, 
we  shall  easily  recognize  that  the  kun-wu  sword  mentioned  in  it  is  in 
fact  only  a  mask  for  the  diamond-point;  for  Lie-tse,  with  reference  to 
this  sword,  avails  himself  of  exactly  the  same  definition  as  the  Shi  chou 
ki}  expressed  in  the  identical  words, —  "cutting  hard  stone  (jade)  as 
though  it  were  merely  clayish  earth," —  and  the  jade-cutting  knife  (tao) 
is  unequivocally  identified  with  the  diamond  in  the  Huan  chung  ki. 
The  passage  in  Lie-tse,  therefore,  rests  on  a  misunderstanding  or  a  too 
liberal  interpretation  of  the  word  tao  7)  ,  which  means  a  cutting-instru- 
ment in  the  widest  sense,  used  for  carving,  chopping,  trimming,  paring, 
scraping,  etc.  It  may  certainly  mean  a  dagger  or  sword  with  a  single 
edge;  and  Lie-tse,  or  whoever  fabricated  the  book  inscribed  with  his 
name,  exaggerated  it  into  the  double-edged  sword  kien.3  Then  he  was 
certainly  obliged  to  permit  himself  the  further  change  of  making  this 
sword  of  tempered  steel;4  and  by  prefixing  the  classifier  kin  ('metal')  to 
the  words  kun  and  wu,  the  masquerade  was  complete  for  eluding  the 
most  perspicacious  sinologues.6    Lie-tse's  kun-wu  sword  is  a  romantic 

ex  facili  cavantes  (xxxvn,  15,  §  60).  It  is  not  necessary,  as  proposed  by  F.  de  Mely 
(Lapidaires  chinois,  p.  257),  to  make  a  distinction  between  kin  kang  shi  ("diamond") 
and  kin  kang  ts'uan  ("emery").  It  plainly  follows  from  the  Chinese  texts  that  the 
latter  is  the  diamond-point  (see  below,  p.  34). 

1  Compare  L.  Leclerc,  Traits  des  simples,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  272. 

2  Ed.  of  F.  Pfeiffer,  p.  433. 

3  The  conception  of  the  diamond  as  a  sword  had  perhaps  been  conveyed  to 
China  from  an  outside  quarter.  In  the  language  of  the  Kirgiz,  the  word  almas, 
designating  the  "diamond"  (from  Arabic  almas),  has  also  the  significance  "steel" 
(in  the  same  manner  as  the  Greek  adamas,  from  which  the  Arabic  word  is  derived), 
and  ak  almas  ("white  diamond")  is  a  poetical  term  for  a  "sword"  (W.  Radloff, 
W6rterbuch  der  Turk-Dialecte,  Vol.  I,  col.  438). 

4  This  metamorphosis  was  possibly  somehow  connected  with  the  original 
meaning  "steel"  inherent  in  the  Greek  word  adamas. 

6  The  missing  link  is  found  in  another  passage  of  the  Shi  chou  ki,  where  the  same 
event  is  described  as  in  Lie-tse.     It  runs  as  follows:  "At  the  time  of  King  Mu  of  the 


The  Diamond-Point  33 

fiction  evolved  from  the  kun-wu  diamond-points  heard  of  and  imported 
from  the  Hellenistic  Orient.  It  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  sword 
industry  of  the  Huns  or  Chinese,  as  speculated  by  Hirth;  nor  is  it  a 
Damascus  blade,  as  suggested  by  Faber  and  Forke.  Such  books  as 
Lie-tse  and  many  others  of  like  calibre  cannot  be  utilized  as  historical 
sources  for  archaeological  argumentation;  their  stories  must  first  be 
analyzed,  critically  dissected,  scrutinized,  and  correlated  with  other 
texts,  Chinese  as  well  as  Western,  to  receive  that  stamp  of  valuation 
which  is  properly  due  them.  It  is  now  clear  also  why  Lie-tse  links  the 
kun-wu  sword  with  asbestos,  inasmuch  as  the  two  are  products  of  the 
Hellenistic  Orient.  The  circumstance  that  both  are  credited  to  King 
Mu  is  a  meaningless  fable.  King  Mu  was  the  chosen  favorite  and 
hero  of  Taoist  legend-makers,  to  whose  name  all  marvellous  objects 
of  distant  trade  were  attached  (in  the  same  manner  as  King  Solomon 
and  Alexander  in  the  West).  The  introduction  of  the  Western  Jung 
on  this  occasion  possibly  is  emblematic  of  the  intermediary  r61e  which 
was  played  by  Turkish  tribes  in  the  transmission  of  goods  from  the 
Anterior  Orient  and  Persia  to  China.1 

As  regards  the  history  of  the  diamond,  we  learn  that  the  Chinese, 
before  they  became  acquainted  with  the  stone  as  a  gem,  received  the 
first  intimation  of  it  in  the  shape  of  diamond-points  for  mechanical 
work,  sent  from  the  Hellenistic  Orient, —  known  first  (at  the  time 
of  the  Han)  under  the  name  kun-wu;  in  the  third  century  (under  the 
Tsin),  as  will  be  shown  below,  under  the  name  kin-kang;  and  later 
on,  as  kin-kang  tsuan.     It  seems  that  the  Chinese  made  little  or  no 


Chou  dynasty  the  Western  Hu  presented  a  jade-cutting  knife  of  kun-wu,  one  foot 
long,  capable  of  cutting  jade  as  though  it  were  merely  clayish  earth."  In  this  text 
(quoted  in  P'ei  win  yunfu,  Ch.  19,  p.  13)  the  word  tao  is  used,  and  kun-wu  is  plainly 
written  without  the  classifiers  kin.  Here  we  have  the  model  after  which  Lie-tse 
worked.  The  term  kun-wu  tao,  written  in  the  same  style  as  in  Shi  chou  ki,  appears 
once  more  in  the  biography  of  the  painter  Li  Kung-lin  {Sung  shi,  Ch.  444,  p.  7),  who 
died  in  1106.  The  Emperor  had  obtained  a  seal  of  nephrite,  which  his  scholars, 
despite  long  deliberations,  could  not  decipher  till  Li  Kung-lin  diagnosed  it  as  the 
famous  seal  of  Ts'in  Shi  Huang-ti  made  by  Li  Se  in  the  third  century  B.C.  (com- 
pare Chavannes,  T*oung  Pao,  1904,  p.  496).  On  this  occasion  the  painter  said 
that  the  substance  nephrite  is  hard,  but  not  quite  so  hard  as  a  diamond-point 
(kun-wu  tao). 

1  It  is  interesting  that  the  diamond  appears  also  in  the  cycle  of  Si-wang-mu,  the 
legendary  motives  of  which,  in  my  opinion,  to  a  large  extent  go  back  to  the  Hel- 
lenistic Orient.  In  the  Han  Wu-ti  nei  chuan  (p.  2  b;  ed.  of  Shou  shan  ko  ts'ung  shu), 
the  goddess  appears  wearing  in  her  girdle  a  magic  seal  of  diamond  [kin-kang  ling  si). 
The  work  in  question,  carried  by  an  unfounded  tradition  into  the  Han  period,  is  a 
production  of  much  later  times,  but  seems  to  have  existed  in  the  second  half  of  the 
sixth  century  (Pelliot,  Bulletin  de  I'Ecole  francaise,  Vol.  IX,  p.  243;  and  Journal 
asiatique,  1912,  Juillet-Aout,  p.  149). 


34  The  Diamond 

use  of  the  diamond  for  ornamental  purposes,  and  did  not  understand 
how  to  work  it.1 

Not  only  have  the  Chinese  stories  about  the  diamond-point,  but 
there  is  also  proof  for  the  fact  that  this  implement  was  among  them  a 
living  reality  turned  to  practical  use.  Li  Sim,  the  author  of  the  Hai 
yao  pen  ts'ao, —  an  account  of  the  drugs  of  southern  countries,  written 
in  the  second  half  of  the  eighth  century,2 — discusses  the  genuine  pearl 
found  in  the  southern  ocean,  and  observes  that  it  can  be  perforated 
only  by  the  diamond-point  (kin-kang  tsuan).3  The  poet  Yuan  CMn 
(779-831),  his  contemporary,  says  in  a  stanza,  "The  diamond-point 
bores  jade,  the  sword  of  finely  tempered  steel4  severs  the  floating 
down." 

The  preceding  accounts  have  conveyed  the  impression  that  the 
diamond-points  employed  by  the  Chinese  were  plain  implements  of  the 
shape  of  an  awl  tipped  with  a  diamond.  A  different  instrument  is 
described  in  the  Hiian  chung  ki,  a  work  of  the  fifth  century,  which  has 
already  been  quoted  from  the  Pin  ts'ao  kang  mu.  In  the  great  cyclo- 
paedia T'ai  p'ing  yii  Ian5  the  passage  of  this  book  concerning  the  dia- 
mond is  handed  down  as  follows:  "The  diamond  comes  from  India  and 
the  country  of  Ta  Ts'in  (the  Roman  Orient).  It  is  styled  also  'jade- 
cutting  knife,'  as  it  cuts  jade  like  an  iron  knife.     The  largest  reach  a 


1  The  Nan  chou  i  wu  chi  (Account  of  Remarkable  Objects  in  the  Southern 
Provinces,  by  Wan  Chen  of  the  third  century)  states  that  the  diamond  is  a  stone,  in 
appearance  resembling  a  pearl,  hard,  sharp,  and  matchless;  and  that  foreigners  are 
fond  of  setting  it  in  rings,  which  they  wear  in  order  to  ward  off  evil  influences  and 
poison  {T'ai  p'ing  yii  Ian,  Ch.  813,  p.  10). —  The  Polyglot  Dictionary  of  K'ien-lung 
(Ch.  22,  p.  65)  discriminates  between  kin-kang  tsuan  ("diamond-point")  and  kin- 
kang  shi  ("diamond  stone").  The  former  corresponds  to  Manchu  paltari,  Tibetan 
p'a-lam,  and  Mongol  ocir  alama;  the  latter,  to  Manchu  palta  wehe  (wehe,  "stone"), 
Tibetan  rdo  p'a-lam  (rdo,  "stone"),  and  Mongol  alama  cilagu  (the  latter  likewise 
means  "stone").  The  Manchu  words  are  artificial  formations  based  on  the  Tibetan 
word.  Mongol  alama  apparently  goes  back  to  Arabic  almas  (Russian  almaz),  Uigur 
and  other  Turkish  dialects  almas  (Osmanli  elmas),  ultimately  traceable  to  Greek- 
Latin  adamas.  Al-Akfanl  writes  the  word  al-mas,  the  initials  of  the  stem  being 
mistaken  by  him  for  the  native  article  al  (Wiedemann,  Zur  Mineralogie  im  Islam, 
p.  218). 

2  Bretschneider,  Bot.  Sin.,  pt.  1,  p.  45. 

3  Pin  ts'ao  kang  mu,  Ch.  46,  p.  3  b;  Ching  lei  pin  ts'ao,  Ch.  20,  fol.  12  b  (edition 
of  1523).  Al-Akfanl  says  in  the  same  manner  that  the  pearl  is  perforated  only  by 
means  of  the  diamond  (E.  Wiedemann,  Zur  Mineralogie  im  Islam,  p.  221). 

4  Pin  t'ie.  Julien's  opinion  that  the  diamond  is  understood  by  this  term  is  erro- 
neous, and  was  justly  antagonized  by  Mayers  (China  Review,  Vol.  IV,  1875,  P-  I75)- 
Regarding  this  steel  imported  into  China  by  Persians  and  Arabs,  see  Bretschneider, 
Mediaeval  Researches,  Vol.  I,  p.  146;  Watters,  Essays  on  the  Chinese  Language, 
p.  434;  Hirth  and  Rockhill,  Chau  Ju-kua,  p.  19. 

6  Ch.  813,  p.  10  (edition  of  Juan  Yuan,  1812). 


Diamond  and  Gold  35 

length  of  over  a  foot,  the  smallest  are  of  the  size  of  a  rice-grain.  In 
order  to  cut  jade,  it  is  necessary  to  make  a  large  gold  ring,  which  is  held 
between  the  fingers;  this  ring  is  inserted  into  the  jade-cutting  knife, 
which  thus  becomes  fit  for  work."  This  description  is  not  very  clear, 
but  I  am  under  the  impression  that  an  instrument  on  the  order  of  our 
roller-cutter  is  understood. 

This  investigation  may  be  regarded  also  as  a  definite  solution  of  a 
problem  of  classical  archaeology,  which  for  a  long  time  was  the  subject 
of  an  extended  and  heated  controversy.1  The  Chinese,  though  receiving 
the  diamond-point  from  the  Occident,  have  preserved  to  us  more  copious 
notes  and  clearer  and  fuller  texts  regarding  this  subject  than  the  classical 
authors;  and  if  hitherto  it  was  possible  to  cast  doubts  on  Pliny's  descrip- 
tion of  diamond-splinters  (above,  p.  31),  which  have  been  taken  by 
some  authors  for  diamond-dust,  this  scepticism  is  no  longer  justified  in 
the  light  of  Chinese  information.  What  Pliny  describes  is  indeed  the 
diamond-point,  and  the  accurate  descriptions  of  the  Chinese  fully  bear 
out  this  fact. 

Diamond  and  Gold. —  The  earliest  passage  of  fundamental  his- 
torical value  in  which  the  diamond  is  clearly  indicated  occurs  in  the 
Tsin  k'i  kii  chu  ~W"Jt|.J§  >£,2  and  is  handed  down  to  us  in  two  dif- 
ferent versions.  One  of  these  runs  as  follows:3  "In  the  third  year  of 
the  period  Hien-ning  (a.d.  277),  Tun-huang4  presented  to  the  Emperor 
diamonds  (kin-kang).  Diamonds  are  the  rulers  in  the  midst  of  gold 
(or  preside  in  the  proximity  of  gold  .i'ltr).  They  are  neither 
washed,5  nor  can  they  be  melted.  They  can  cut  jade,  and  come  from 
(or  are  produced  in)  India."     The  other  version  of  this  text,  ascribed  to 


1  The  chief  arguments  are  discussed  below  on  pp.  42-46. 

*  The  term  k'i  kii  chu  fej^  SB  designates  a  peculiar  class  of  historical  records  deal- 
ing with  the  acts  of  prominent  persons  and  sovereigns.  The  first  in  existence  re- 
lated to  the  Han  Emperor  Wu.  The  well-known  Mu  t'ien-tse  chuan  (Life  of  the 
Emperor  Mu)  agreed  in  style  and  make-up  with  the  k'i  kii  chu  which  were  extant 
under  the  Sui  dynasty  (see  Sui  shu,Ch..  33,  p.  7).  Under  the  Tsin  quite  a  number  of 
books  of  this  class  were  written,  which  are  enumerated  in  the  chapter  on  Sui  litera 
ture  quoted.  Judging  from  the  titles  there  given,  each  must  have  embraced  a 
fixed  year-period;  hence  the  passage  quoted  above  must  have  been  contained  in  the 
Tsin  Hien-ning  k'i  kii  chu,  that  is,  Annotations  on  the  Conditions  of  the  Period  Hien- 
ning  (275-280)  of  the  Tsin  Dynasty,  a  work  in  ten  chapters,  written  by  Li  Kuei 
$-3^.  Nineteen  other  titles  of  works  of  this  type  referring  to  the  Tsin  period, 
and  apparently  all  contemporary  records,  are  preserved  in  the  Sui  shu  and  were 
utilized  at  that  time;  thus  the  Tsin  k'i  kii  chu  is  quoted  in  the  biography  of  Yu-wen 
K'ai  •f  XJfc  in  the  Sui  Annals. 

1  T'ai  P'ing  yu  Ian,  Ch.  813,  p.  10. 

*  In  the  north-western  corner  of  Kan-su,  near  the  border  of  Turkistan. 
6  As  is  the  case  with  gold-sand. 


36  The  Diamond 

the  same  work,  is  recorded  thus:1  "In  the  thirteenth  year  of  the  reign 
of  the  Emperor  Wu  (a.d.  277)  there  was  a  man  in  Tun-huang,  who  pre- 
sented the  Court  with  diamond  jewels  (kin-kang  pao).  These  are 
produced  in  the  midst  of  gold  (  £.&$*).  Their  color  is  like  that  of 
fluor-spar,2  and  in  their  appearance  they  resemble  a  grain  of  buck- 
wheat. Though  many  times  fused,  they  do  not  melt.  They  can  cut 
jade  as  though  it  were  merely  clayish  earth."  It  is  manifest  that  these 
two  texts,  from  their  coincidence  chronologically,  are  but  variants 
referring  to  one  and  the  same  event,  under  the  Tsin  dynasty  (265-419) ; 
and  it  is  likewise  apparent  that  the  text  as  preserved  in  the  T'ai  pHng  yii 
Ian,  the  great  cyclopaedia  published  by  Li  Fang  in  983,  bears  the  stamp 
of  true  originality,  while  that  in  the  PHen  tse  lei  pien  is  made  up  of  scraps 
borrowed  from  the  Pao  pxu  tse  of  Ko  Hung  (p.  2 1)  and  Lie-tse's  notice 
of  kun-wu  (p.  28).3  From  this  memorable  passage  we  may  gather 
several  interesting  facts:  diamonds  were  traded  in  the  second  part  of 
the  third  century  from  India  by  way  of  Turkistan  to  Tun-huang  for 
further  transmission  inland  into  China  proper;  and  the  chief  charac- 
teristics of  the  stone  were  then  perfectly  grasped  by  the  Chinese,  par- 
ticularly its  property  of  cutting  other  hard  stones.  The  most  important 
gain,  however,  for  our  specific  purpose,  is  the  observation  that  a  bit  of 
Plinian  folk-lore  is  mingled  with  the  Chinese  account.  We  are  at  once 
reminded  of  Pliny's  statement  that  adamas  was  the  name  given  to  a 
nodosity  of  gold,  sometimes,  though  but  rarely,  found  in  the  mines  in 
company  with  gold,  and  that  it  seemed  to  occur  only  in  gold.4    Pseudo- 


1  PHen  tse  lei  pien,  Ch.  71,  p.  11  b. 

'See  above,  p.  21. 

*  A  third  variant  occurs  in  Yuan  kien  lei  han  (Ch.  361,  p.  18b),  where  the  term 
"diamond"  is,  strangely  enough,  suppressed.  This  text  runs  thus:  "The  Books  of 
the  Tsin  by  Wang  Yin  say  that  in  the  third  year  of  the  period  Hien-ning  (a.d.  277), 
according  to  the  K'i  kil  chu,  from  the  district  of  Tun-huang  were  brought  to  the 
Court  objects  found  in  gold  caves,  which  originate  in  gold,  are  infusible,  and  can  cut 
jade." 

4  Ita  appellabatur  auri  nodus  in  metallis  repertus  perquam  raro  [comes  auri] 
nee  nisi  in  auro  nasci  videbatur  (xxxvn,  15,  §  55).  Also  Plato  is  credited  with 
having  entertained  a  similar  notion  (Krause,  Pyrgoteles,  p.  10;  H.  O.  Lenz,  Mine- 
ralogie  der  alten  Griechen  und  Romer,  p.  16;  Blumner,  Technologie,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  230;  and  in  Pauly's  Realenzyklopadie,  Vol.  IX,  col.  322);  although  others,  like 
E.  O.  von  Lippmann  (Abhandlungen  und  Vortrage,  Vol.  II,  p.  39),  are  not  convinced 
that  Plato's  adamas  means  the  diamond.  The  note  in  Bostock  and  Riley's  trans- 
lation of  Pliny  (Vol.  VI,  p.  406)  —  that  "this  statement  cannot  apply  to  the  diamond 
as  known  to  us,  though  occasionally  grains  of  gold  have  been  found  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  diamond"  — is  not  to  the  point.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  well-established  fact 
that  the  diamond  does  occur  in  connection  with  gold;  and  this  experience  even  led 
to  the  discovery  of  diamond-mines  in  the  Ural.  Owing  to  the  similarity  between  the 
Brazilian  and  Uralic  gold  and  platina  sites,  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  in  1823, 


Diamond  and  Gold  37 

Aristotle,  in  the  introduction  to  his  work,  philosophizes  on  the  forces  of 
nature  attracting  or  avoiding  one  another.  To  these  belongs  gold  that 
comes  as  gold-dust  from  the  mine.  When  the  diamond  encounters  a 
grain  of  it,  it  pounces  on  the  gold,  wherever  it  may  be  in  its  mine,  till 
the  union  is  accomplished.1  QazwinI  speaks  of  an  amicable  relationship 
between  gold  and  the  diamond,  for  if  the  diamond  comes  near  gold, 
it  clings  to  the  latter;  also  it  is  said  that  the  diamond  is  found  only 
in  gold-mines.2  A  commentary  to  the  Shan  hai  king3  has  the  following: 
"The  diamond  which  is  produced  abroad  belongs  to  the  class  of  stones, 
but  resembles  gold  (or  metal)  and  has  a  brilliant  splendor.  It  can  cut 
jade.  The  foreigners  wear  it  in  the  belief  that  it  wards  off  evil  influ- 
ences." It  is  therefore  highly  probable  that  the  first  element  (kin) 
in  the  Chinese  compound  kin-kang  was  really  intended  to  convey  the 
meaning ' '  gold ' '  (not ' '  metal ' '  in  general) ,  and  that  the  term  was  framed 
in  consequence  of  that  tradition  reaching  Tun-huang,  and  ultimately 
traceable  to  classical  antiquity.  A  further  intimation  as  to  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  newly-coined  term  we  receive  in  the  same  period,  that  of  the 
Tsin  dynasty,  when  the  stone  and  its  nature  were  perfectly  known  in 
China.  Indeed,  it  is  several  times  alluded  to  in  the  official  Annals  of 
the  Tsin  Dynasty  (265-419).  At  that  time  "a  saying  was  current 
among  the  people  of  Liang,4  that  the  principle  of  the  diamond  of  the 
Western  countries  is  strength,  and  that  for  this  reason  the  name  kin- 
kang  was  conferred  upon  it  in  Liang."5  In  combining  this  information 
with  the  previous  text  of  the  Tsin  k'i  kit  chu,  we  arrive  at  the  conclusion 
that  the  term  kin-kang  reflects  two  traditions, —  the  word  kin  referring 
to  the  origin  of  the  diamond  in  gold,  the  word  kang  alluding  to  its 


expressed  the  idea  that  the  diamond  accompanying  these  two  metals  in  Brazil  should 
be  discovered  also  in  the  Ural;  under  the  guidance  of  this  prognostic,  the  first  dia- 
monds were  really  found  there  in  1829  (Bauer,  Edelsteinkunde,  2d  ed.,  p.  292). 
The  diamonds  of  California  have  been  found  in  association  with  gold-bearing  gravels, 
while  washing  for  gold  (Farrington,  Gems  and  Gem  Minerals,  p.  87).  The  state- 
ment of  Pliny  proves  that  he  indeed  speaks  of  the  diamond. 

1  J.  Ruska,  Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  p.  129. 

1  Rusra,  Steinbuch  aus  der  Kosmographie  des  al-QazwInl,  p.  6. 

*  Quoted  in  Yuan  kien  lei  han,  Ch.  26,  p.  46. 

4  Liang  is  the  name  of  one  of  the  nine  provinces  (chou)  into  which  China  was 
anciently  divided  by  the  culture-hero  and  semi-historical  Emperor  Yu,  comprising 
what  is  at  present  Sze-ch'uan  and  parts  of  Shen-si,  Kan-su,  and  Hu-pei  (regarding 
the  boundaries  of  Liang-chou,  see  particularly  Legge,  Chinese  Classics,  Vol.  Ill, 
pp.  1 19-120).  Liang-chou  was  one  of  the  nineteen  provinces  into  which  China  was 
divided  under  the  Tsin  dynasty,  with  Wu-wei  (in  Kan-su)  as  capital  (compare  Piton, 
China  Review,  Vol.  XI,  p.  299). 

6  Tsin  shu,  Ch.  14,  p.  16.  The  Annals  of  the  Tsin  Dynasty  were  compiled  by 
Fang  Huan-ling  (578-648). 


38  The  Diamond 

extreme  hardness,  likewise  emphasized  by  Pliny;  kin-kang,  accordingly, 
means  "the  hard  stone  originating  in  gold." 1 

In  our  middle  ages  we  meet  the  notion  of  adamantine  gold  which  is 
credited  with  the  same  properties  as  the  diamond.  In  the  famous  letter, 
purported  to  have  been  addressed  by  Prester  John  to  the  Byzantine 
Emperor  Manuel,  and  written  about  1165,  a  floor  in  the  bakery  of  the 
alleged  palace  of  the  Royal  Presbyter  in  India  is  described  as  being  of 
adamantine  gold,  the  strength  of  which  can  be  destroyed  neither  by 
iron,  nor  fire,  nor  any  other  remedy,  save  buck's  blood.2 

The  Term  "Kun-wu." — It  is  difficult  to  decide  the  origin  of  the 
word  kun-wu.  It  would  be  tempting  to  regard  it  as  a  transcription  of 
the  Greek  or  West- Asiatic  word  denoting  the  diamond-point;  unfor- 
tunately, however,  the  Greek  designation  for  this  implement  is  not 
known.  More  probably  the  Chinese  term  may  be  derived  from  an  idiom 
spoken  in  Central  Asia;  at  any  rate,  the  word  itself  was  employed 
in  China  before  the  introduction  of  diamond-points  from  the  West.  In 
a  poem  of  Se-ma  Siang-ju,  who  died  in  117  B.C.,  we  meet  a  precious 
stone  named  kun-wu  JtL  J§- ,  as  occurring  in  Sze-ch'uan,  on  the  nature 
of  which  the  opinions  of  the  commentators  dissent.3  The  Han  shu  yin  i 
explains  it  as  the  name  of  a  mountain  which  produces  excellent  gold. 
Shi-tse  or  Shi  Kiao  (about  280  B.C.)  explains  it  as  "gold"  or  "metal  of 
Kun-wu"  tc.-ja^'fw  ,  which  may  mean  that  he  takes  the  latter  as 

1  In  the  study  of  Chinese  texts  some  precaution  is  necessary  in  the  handling  of  the 
term  kin  kang,  which  does  not  always  refer  to  the  diamond,  but  sometimes  presents 
a  complete  sentence  with  the  meaning  "gold  is  hard."  Three  examples  of  this  kind 
are  known  to  me.  One  occurs  in  Nan  shi  (biography  of  Chang  T'ung;  see  Pien  tse 
lei  pien,  Ch.  71,  p.  lib):  "Gold  is  hard,  water  is  soft:  this  is  the  difference  in  their 
natural  properties."  In  Tsin  shu  (Ch.  95,  p.  13  b;  biography  of  Wang  Kia)  we  meet 
the  sentence  ^"ISl^fi..  This,  of  course,  could  mean  "the  diamond  is  conquered 
by  fire," —  a  sentence  which,  from  the  standpoint  of  our  scientific  experience,  would 
be  perfectly  correct;  from  a  Chinese  viewpoint,  however,  it  would  be  sheer  non- 
sense, the  Chinese  as  well  as  the  ancients  entertaining  the  belief  that  fire  does  not 
affect  the  diamond  (p.  23).  The  passage  really  signifies,  "Gold  is  hard,  yet  is 
overcome  (melted)  by  fire."  The  correctness  of  this  translation  is  confirmed  by  a 
passage  in  a  work  Yi  shi  fing  kio  (quoted  in  Pien  tse  lei  pien,  I.  c),  where  the  same  say- 
ing occurs  in  parallelism  with  two  preceding  sentences:  "Branches  of  trees  fall  and 
return  to  their  roots;  water  flows  from  the  roots  and  returns  to  the  branches;  gold 
is  hard,  yet  is  overcome  by  fire;  every  one  returns  to  his  native  place." 

2  Pavimentum  vero  est  de  auro  adamantino,  fortitudo  cuius  neque  ferro  neque 
igne  neque  alio  medicamine  potest  confringi  sine  yrcino  [hircino]  sanguine  (F. 
Zarncke,  Der  Priester  Johannes  I,  p.  93).  Compare  the  analogous  passage  in  the 
same  document,  "Infra  domum  sunt  duae  magnae  molae,  op  time  ad  molendum 
dispositae,  factae  de  adamante  lapide,  quem  namque  lapidem  neque  lapis  neque 
ignis  neque  ferrum  potest  confringere."  Both  these  passages  are  not  contained  in 
the  original  draught  of  the  letter,  but  are  interpolations  from  manuscripts  of  the 
thirteenth  century. 

*Shiki,  Ch.  117,  p.  2  b. 


The  Term  "Kun-wu"  39 

the  name  of  the  locality  whence  the  ore  came.  Se-ma  Piao  (240-305) 
interprets  it  as  a  stone  ranking  next  to  jade.  Then  follows  in  his  text 
the  story  of  kun-wu  in  Liu-sha,  quoted  from  the  Lung  yii  ho  Vu,  which 
has  been  discussed  above.  I  do  not  know  whether  this  is  a  separate 
editorial  comment,  or  was  included  in  the  commentary  of  Se-ma  Piao. 
At  all  events,  the  fact  is  borne  out  that  the  word  kun-wu  in  the  Shi  ki, 
and  that  referring  to  the  West,  are  considered  by  the  Chinese  as  identical, 
and  that  the  mode  of  writing  (with  or  without  the  classifier  'jade')  is 
immaterial.1  We  know  that  in  times  of  old  numerous  characters  were 
written  without  the  classifiers,  which  were  but  subsequently  added. 
The  writing  kun-wu  in  Lie-tse  with  the  classifier  'metal'  plainly  mani- 
fests itself  as  a  secondary  move,8  and  the  simple  kun-wu  without  any 
determinative  classifier  doubtless  represents  the  primary  stage.  This 
is  shown  also  by  the  existence  of  a  character  ^PtL,  where  the  element 
kun  is  combined  with  the  classifier  'stone.'8  If  in  the  Shi  ki  the  word 
kun-wu  is  linked  with  the  classifier  'jade;'  and  if,  further,  this  term  ap- 
pears coupled  with  nine  other  designations  of  stones,  the  whole  series 
of  ten  being  introduced  by  the  words  "following  are  the  stones," — the 
interpretation  "gold"  is  absurd,  and  that  of  Se-ma  Piao  has  only  a 
chance.  It  would  therefore  be  possible  that  kun-wu  originally  served 
for  naming  some  hard  stone  indigenous  to  Sze-ch'uan,  and  was  subse- 
quently transferred  to  the  imported  diamond-point.  The  name  for 
the  stone  may  have  been  inspired  by  that  of  the  mountain  Kun-wu, 
stones  being  frequently  named  in  China  for  the  mountains  or  localities 
from  which  they  are  derived.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  a  text  in 
which  the  name  Kun-wu  in  this  connection  is  conceived  as  that  of  a  clan 
or  family  by  the  addition  of  the  word  shi  H\, .  This  is  the  Chou  shu* 
which  relates  the  tradition  that  the  Western  Countries  offered  fire-proof 
cloth  (asbestos),  and  the  Kun-wu  Clan  presented  jade-cutting  knives. 
It  seems  certain  that  this  version  has  no  basis  in  reality,  but  presents  a 
makeshift  to  account  for  the  troublesome  word  kun-wu.  How  it  sprang 
into  existence  may  be  explained  from  the  fact  that  there  was  in  ancient 
times,  under  the  Hia  dynasty,  a  rebel  by  the  name  Kun-wu,  mentioned 
in  the  Shi  king  and  Shi  ki; 6  but  it  is  obvious  that  this  family  name  bears 

1  In  Ts'ien  Han  shu,  where  the  same  text  is  reproduced,  kun-wu  is  written  without 
the  classifiers. 

1  In  all  likelihood  this  is  merely  a  device  of  later  editors  of  Lie-tse's  text.  There 
are  editions  in  which  the  plain  kun-wu  without  the  classifier  is  written  (see  P'ei  win 
yunju,  Ch.  91,  p.  16 b). 

1  P'ei  win  yiinfu,  Ch.  100  A,  p.  25. 

4  Regarding  this  work  see  Chavannes,  Memoires  historiques  de  Se-ma  Ts'ien, 
Vol.  V,  p.  457.    The  passage  is  quoted  in  Po  wu  chi,  Ch.  2,  p.  4 b  (Wu-ch'ang  edition) . 

8  Legge,  Chinese  Classics,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  642;  Chavannes,  /.  c,  Vol.  I,  p.  180. 


40  The  Diamond 

no  relation  to  the  name  of  the  mountain  in  Sze-ch'uan,  the  stone  hailing 
from  it,  and  the  diamond-point  coming  from  the  West.1 

Ko  Hung  informs  us  that  "the  Emperor  Wen  of  the  Wei  dynasty 
(220-226),  who  professed  to  be  well  informed  with  regard  to  every 
object  in  nature,  declared  that  there  were  no  such  things  in  the  world 
as  a  knife  that  would  cut  jade,  and  fire-proof  cloth;  which  opinion  he 
recorded  in  an  essay  on  the  subject.  Afterwards  it  happened  that  both 
these  articles  were  brought  to  court  within  a  year;  the  Emperor  was 
surprised,  and  caused  the  essay  to  be  destroyed;  this  course  being  un- 
avoidable when  he  found  the  statements  to  be  without  foundation."2 
General  Liang-ki,  who  lived  at  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Huan  (147-167), 
is  said  to  have  possessed  asbestos  and  "jade-cutting  knives."8  The 
book  handed  down  under  the  name  of  K'ung-ts'ung-tse4  contains  the 
tradition  that  the  Prince  of  Ts'in  obtained  from  the  Western  Jung  a 
sharp  knife  capable  of  cutting  jade  as  though  it  were  wood.  The  poet 
Kiang  Yen  (443-504)  wrote  a  poem  on  a  bronze  sword,  in  the  preface 
of  which  he  observes  that  there  are  also  red  knives  of  cast  copper  capable 
of  cutting  jade  like  clayish  earth, —  apparently  a  reminiscence  of  the 
passage  of  Lie-tse,  only  the  latter's  "iron"  is  replaced  by  "copper." 
In  the  preceding  texts  the  term  kun-wu  is  avoided,  and  only  the  phrase 
"jade-cutter"  {ko  yil  tad)  has  survived. 

Toxicology  of  the  Diamond. —  Contrary  to  his  common  practice, 
Li  Shi-ch&i  does  not  state  whether  the  diamond  is  poisonous  or  not. 
As  to  the  curative  powers  of  the  stone,  he  asserts  that  when  set  into 
hair-spangles,  finger-rings,  or  girdle-ornaments,  it  wards  off  uncanny 
influences,  evil,  and  poisonous  vapors.6  On  this  point  the  Chinese 
agree  with  Pliny,  according  to  whom  adamas  overcomes  and  neutralizes 


1  Also  Hirth  (Chinesische  Ansichten  uber  Bronzetrommeln,  p.  20)  persuaded 
himself  that  this  proper  name  is  not  connected  with  what  he  believed  to  be  the 
"kun-wu  sword."  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  credit  the  theory  that  the  name  kun-wu, 
as  tentatively  proposed  by  Hirth,  could  be  a  transcription  on  an  equal  footing  with 
Hiung-nu  (Huns).  Aside  from  phonetic  obstacles,  the  fact  remains  that  the  Chinese 
notices  of  kun-wu  do  not  point  in  the  direction  of  the  Huns,  but  refer  to  Liu-sha  in 
Ta  Ts'in  (the  Roman  Orient). 

2  A.  Wylie,  Chinese  Researches,  pt.  in,  p.  151. 

s  Yuan  kien  lei  han,  Ch.  225,  p.  2;  and  Wylie,  /.  c,  p.  143. 

4  The  son  of  K'ung  Fu,  a  descendant  of  Confucius  in  the  ninth  degree,  who  died 
in  2 10  B.C.  (Giles,  Biographical  Dictionary,  p.  401 ) .  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  book 
which  we  nowadays  possess  under  the  title  K'ung-ts'ung-tse  (incorporated  in  the 
Han  Wei  ts'ung  shu)  is  the  one  which  he  wrote  (compare  Chavannes,  Memoires 
historiques  de  Se-ma  Ts'ien,  Vol.  V,  p.  432).  The  passage  referred  to  is  quoted 
in  P'ei  win  yiin  fu,  Ch.  91,  p.  21. 

6  The  source  for  this  statement  doubtless  is  the  Nan  chou  i  wu  chi,  quoted  on 
p.  34,  which  ascribes  this  notion  to  foreigners. 


Imitation  Diamonds  41 

poisons,  dispels  insanity,  and  drives  away  groundless  apprehensions 
from  the  mind.1  The  coincidence  would  not  be  so  remarkable  were  it 
not  for  the  fact  that  in  mediaeval  Mohammedanism  the  theory  of  dia- 
monds being  poisonous  had  been  developed.  This  idea  first  looms  up 
in  Pseudo-Aristotle,  who  is  also  the  first  to  stage  the  snakes  in  the 
Diamond  Valley,  and  cautions  his  readers  against  taking  the  diamond 
in  their  mouths,  because  the  saliva  of  the  snakes  adheres  to  it  so  that  it 
deals  out  death.2  According  to  al-Berunl,  the  people  of  Khorasan  and 
Iraq  employ  the  diamond  only  for  purposes  of  boring  and  poisoning.8 
This  superstition  was  carried  by  the  Mohammedans  into  India,  where 
the  belief  had  prevailed  that  the  diamond  wards  off  from  its  wearer 
the  danger  of  poison.4  The  people  of  India  now  adhere  to  the  super- 
stition that  diamond-dust  is  at  once  the  least  painful,  the  most  active, 
and  most  infallible  of  all  poisons.  In  our  own  time,  when  Mulhar  Rao  of 
Baroda  attempted  to  poison  Col.  Phayre,  diamond-dust  mixed  with 
arsenic  was  used.5  A.  Boetius  de  Boot  (1550-1632)6  was  the  first 
modern  mineralogical  writer  who  refuted  the  old  misconception,  de- 
monstrating that  the  diamond  has  no  poisonous  properties  whatever. 

Imitation  Diamonds. —  While  all  the  principal  motives  of  the 
lore  garnered  by  the  Chinese  around  the  diamond  come  from  classical 
regions,  I  can  discover  but  a  single  notion  traceable  to  India.  Pliny 
has  written  a  short  chapter  on  the  method  of  testing  precious  stones,7 
but  he  does  not  tell  us  how  to  discriminate  between  real  and  counterfeit 
diamonds.  According  to  the  Hindu  mineralogists,  iron,  topaz,  hya- 
cinth, rock-crystal,  cat's-eye,  and  glass  served  for  the  imitation  of  the 
diamond;  and  the  forgery  was  disclosed  by  means  of  acids,  scratching, 

\  Adamas  et  venena  vincit  atque  inrita  facit  et  lymphationes  abigit  metusque 
vanos  expellit  a  mente  (xxxvn,  15,  §  61). 

*  J.  Ruska,  Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  p.  150;  and  Diamant  in  der  Medizin 
(Festschrift  Baas,  pp.  121-125);  likewise  al-Akfanl  (E.  Wiedemann,  Zur  Mineralogie 
im  Islam,  p.  219).  Qazwlnl  (J.  Ruska,  Steinbuch  aus  der  Kosmographie  des  al- 
Kazwlnl,  p.  35)  quotes  Ibn  Slna  as  saying  that  the  venomous  property  imputed  by 
Aristotle  to  the  diamond  is  a  hollow  pretence,  and  that  Aristotle  is  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  snake-poison,  after  flowing  out,  loses  its  baleful  effect,  especially  when  some 
time  has  elapsed.  This  sensible  remark  does  not  prevent  Qazwlnl,  in  copying  his 
second  anonymous  source  relating  to  the  diamond,  from  alleging  that  "it  is  an 
extremely  mortal  poison." 

*  E.  Wiedemann,  Der  Islam,  Vol.  II,  p.  352. 

4  L.  Finot,  Lapidaires  indiens,  p.  10.  Varahamihira  (a.d.  505-587)  states  that 
a  good  diamond  dispels  foes,  danger  from  thunder-strokes  or  poison,  and  promises 
many  enjoyments  (H.  Kern,  Verspreide  Geschriften,  Vol.  II,  p.  98). 

6  W.  Crooke,  Things  Indian,  p.  379. 

•Gemmarum  et  lapidum  historia,  p.  124  (ed.  of  A.  Toll,  Lugduni  Batavorum, 
1636);  compare  also  J.  Ruska,  Festschrift  Baas,  pp.  125-127. 

7  xxxvn,  76. 


42  The  Diamond 

and  the  touchstone.  The  Agastimata  is  specific  on  this  point  by 
anathematizing  forgers  and  recommending  the  following  recipe:  "The 
vile  man  who  fabricates  false  diamonds  will  sink  into  an  awful  hell, 
charged  with  a  sin  equal  to  murder.  When  a  connoisseur  believes  that 
he  recognizes  an  artificial  diamond,  he  should  test  it  by  means  of  acids 
or  vinegar,  or  through  application  of  heat:  if  false,  it  will  lose  color;  if 
true,  it  will  double  its  lustre.  It  may  also  be  washed  and  brought  in 
contact  with  rice:  thus  it  will  at  once  be  reduced  to  a  powder."1  The 
TsH  tung  ye  yii  of  Chou  Mi,  previously  quoted,  imparts  this  advice: 
"In  order  to  distinguish  genuine  from  counterfeit  diamonds,  expose  the 
stone  to  red-heat  and  steep  it  in  vinegar:  if  it  retains  its  former  appear- 
ance and  does  not  split,  it  is  real.  When  the  diamond-point  happens 
to  become  blunt,  it  should  be  heated  till  it  reddens;  and  on  cooling  off, 
it  will  again  have  a  sharp  point."2  The  first  experiment  is  identical 
with  that  proposed  in  the  Sanskrit  text.  As  to  the  second,  we  again 
encounter  a  striking  parallel  in  Pliny:  "There  is  such  great  difference 
in  stones,  that  some  cannot  be  engraved  by  means  of  iron,  others  may 
be  cut  only  with  a  blunt  graver,  all,  however,  by  means  of  the  diamond; 
heating  of  the  graver  considerably  intensifies  the  effect."3 

Acquaintance  or  the  Ancients  with  the  Diamond. —  The 
previous  notes  have  been  based  on  the  supposition  that  the  stone 
termed  adamas  by  the  ancients,  and  that  called  kun-wu  (or  subsequently 
kin-kang)  by  the  Chinese,  are  identical  with  what  we  understand  by 
"diamond."  This  identification,  however,  has  been  called  into  doubt 
by  students  of  classical  antiquity  as  well  as  by  sinologues.  It  is  there- 
fore necessary  to  scrutinize  their  arguments.  Our  investigation  has 
clearly  brought  out  two  points, —  first,  that  the  Chinese  notices  of  the 
diamond-point  {kun-wu)  agree  with  Pliny's  account  of  the  same  imple- 
ment; and,  second,  that  Chinese  traditions  regarding  the  stone  kin-kang 
perfectly  coincide  with  those  of  the  ancients  and  the  Arabs  concerning 
adamas  and  almas,  the  latter  word  being  derived  from  the  former.     If, 


1  L.  Finot,  Lapidaires  indiens,  p.  xxx. 

2  F.  de  Mely  (Lapidaires  chinois,  p.  124)  has  misunderstood  this  passage  by 
referring  it  to  the  stone  in  lieu  of  the  diamond-point.  "  S'il  a  des  facettes  emoussees, 
on  le  chauffe  au  rouge,  on  le  laisse  refroidir,  et  ses  facettes  redeviennent  aigues." 
This  point  of  view  is  untenable.  First,  the  facets  of  a  diamond  are  neither  blunt  nor 
sharp;  second,  a  faceted  diamond,  as  will  be  shown  in  detail  farther  on,  was  always 
unknown  to  the  Chinese,  who  for  the  first  time  noticed  cut  diamonds  in  the  possession 
of  the  Macao  Portuguese;  and,  third,  the  parallelism  with  Pliny  proves  my  conception 
of  the  Chinese  text  to  be  correct. 

*  lam  tanta  differentia  est,  ut  aliae  ferro  scalpi  non  possint,  aliae  non  nisi  retuso, 
omnes  autem  adamante.  Plurimum  vero  in  iis  terebrarum  proficit  fervor  (xxxvu, 
76,  §  200).     Compare  Krause,  Pyrgoteles,  p.  231. 


Acquaintance  of  the  Ancients  with  the  Diamond         43 

accordingly,  the  adamas  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  be  the  diamond, 
the  continuity  of  Western  and  Eastern  traditions  renders  it  plain  that 
the  Chinese  stone  kin-kang  must  be  exactly  the  same;  if,  however, 
adamas  should  denote  another  stone,  the  claim  for  kin-kang  as  the 
diamond  must  lose  its  force.  Eminent  archaeologists  like  Lessing, 
Krause,  Blumner,  and  Babelon,  have  championed  the  view  that  Pliny's 
adamas  is  our  diamond.1  The  opposition  chiefly  came  from  the  camp 
of  mineralogists.  E.  S.  Dana2  remarked  upon  the  word  adamas, 
"This  name  was  applied  by  the  ancients  to  several  minerals  differing 
much  in  their  physical  properties.  A  few  of  these  are  quartz,  specular 
iron  ore,  emery,  and  other  substances  of  rather  high  degrees  of  hardness, 
which  cannot  now  be  identified.  It  is  doubtful  whether  Pliny  had  any 
acquaintance  with  the  real  diamond."  This  rather  sweeping  statement 
does  not  testify  to  a  sound  interpretation  of  Pliny's  text.  A  recent 
author  asserts,8  "It  is  more  than  doubtful  if  the  true  diamond  was 
known  to  the  ancients.  The  consensus  of  the  best  opinions  is  that  the 
adamas  was  a  variety  of  corundum,  probably  our  white  sapphire." 
Let  us  now  examine  what  the  foundation  of  these  "best  opinions"  is. 

The  very  first  sentence  with  which  Pliny  opens  his  discussion  of 
adamas  is  apt  to  refute  these  peremptory  assertions :  "The  greatest  value 
among  the  objects  of  human  property,  not  merely  among  precious 
stones,  is  due  to  the  adamas,  for  a  long  time  known  only  to  kings,  and 
even  to  very  few  of  these."4  The  most  highly  prized  and  valued  of  all 
antique  gems,  the  "joy  of  opulence,"6  should  be  quartz,  specular  iron 
ore,  emery,  and  other  substances  which  cannot  now  be  identified! 
The  ancients  were  not  so  narrow-minded  that  almost  any  stone  picked 
up  anywhere  in  nature  could  have  been  regarded  as  their  precious 
stone  foremost  in  the  scale  of  valuation.  If  the  peoples  of  India  like- 
wise regarded  the  diamond  as  the  first  of  the  jewels,  if  their  treatises  on 
mineralogy  assign  to  it  the  first  place,6  and  if  Pliny  is  familiar  with  the 


1  Also  so  eminent  an  historian  of  natural  sciences  as  E.  O.  von  Lippmann 
(Abhandlungen  und  Vortrage,  Vol.  I,  p.  9)  grants  to  Pliny  a  knowledge  of  the 
diamond. 

*  System  of  Mineralogy,  p.  3,  1850.  In  the  new  edition  of  1893  this  passage  has 
been  omitted;  the  first  distinct  mention  of  the  diamond  is  ascribed  to  Manilius  (!), 
and  Pliny's  adamas  is  allowed  to  be  the  diamond  in  part. 

*  D.  Osborne,  Engraved  Gems,  p.  271  (New  York,  1912). 

4  Maximum  in  rebus  humanis,  non  solum  inter  gemmas,  pretium  habet  adamas, 
diu  non  nisi  regibus  et  iis  admodum  paucis  cognitus  (xxxvn,  15,  §  55;  again  78, 
§  204). 

6  Opum  gaudium  (Pliny,  procemium  of  Lib.  xx). 

*  L.  Finot,  Lapidaires  indiens,  p.  xxiv.  Buddhabhat^a  {ibid.,  p.  6)  says,  "Owing 
to  the  great  virtue  attributed  by  the  sages  to  the  diamond,  it  must  be  studied  in  the 


44  The  Diamond 

adamas  of  India,  it  is  fairly  certain  that  also  the  adamas  is  the  dia- 
mond; it  is,  at  any  rate,  infinitely  more  certain  than  that  the  jewel 
first  known  only  to  kings  should  have  been  quartz,  specular  iron  ore, 
emery,  or  some  other  unidentified  substance.  That  emery  is  not  meant 
by  Pliny  becomes  evident  from  the  fact  that  emery  was  well  known 
to  the  ancients  under  the  name  naxium.1  The  Indian  diamond  is  per- 
fectly well  described  by  Pliny  as  an  hexangular  crystal  resembling 
two  pyramids  placed  base  to  base;  that  is,  the  octahedral  form  in 
which  the  diamond  commonly  crystallizes.2  Whether  the  five  other 
varieties  spoken  of  by  Pliny  are  real  diamonds  or  not  is  of  no  conse- 
quence in  this  connection;  two  of  these  he  himself  brands  as  degen- 
erate stones.  The  name  very  probably  served  in  this  case  as  a  bare 
trademark.  Diamonds  at  that  time  were  scarce,  and  the  demand  was 
satisfied  by  inferior  stones.  That  such  were  sold  under  the  name  of 
"diamond"  does  not  prove  that  the  ancients  were  not  acquainted  with 
the  true  diamond.     The  diamond  of  India  was  known  to  them,3  and 


first  place."  P.  S.  Iyengar  (The  Diamonds  of  South  India,  Quarterly  Journal  of 
the  Mythic  Society,  Vol.  Ill,  1914,  p.  118)  observes,  "Among  the  Hindu,  both  ancient 
and  modern,  the  diamond  is  always  regarded  as  the  first  of  the  nine  precious  gems 
(navaratna)." 

1  BlUmner,  Technologie,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  198,  286.  In  Greek  it  is  styled  oixbpu. 
"Emery  is  the  stone  employed  by  the  engravers  for  the  cutting  of  gems"  (Dios- 

CORIDES,  CLXVl). 

1  This  passage  has  embarrassed  some  interpreters  of  Pliny  (H.  O.  Lenz,  Mine- 
ralogie  der  alten  Griechen  und  Romer,  p.  163;  A.  Nies,  Zur  Mineralogie  des  Plinius, 
p.  5),  because  they  did  not  grasp  the  fact  that  it  is  the  octahedron  which  has  six 
points  or  corners  (sexangulus) ;  and  thus  such  inadequate  translations  were  matured 
as  "its  highly  polished  hexangular  and  hexahedral  form"  (Bostock  and  Riley, 
Natural  History  of  Pliny,  Vol.  VI,  p.  406).  No  body,  of  course,  can  simultaneously 
be  hexangular  and  hexahedral,  the  hexahedron  being  a  cube  with  six  sides  and  four 
points.  Pliny's  wording  is  plain  and  concise,  and  his  description  tallies  with  the 
Sanskrit  definition  of  the  diamond  as  "six-cornered"  (shafkona,  sha(ko(i,  or  sha^dra; 
see  R.  Garbe  [Die  indischen  Mineralien,  p.  80],  who  had  wit  enough  to  see  that  this 
term  hints  at  the  octahedron  and  correctly  answers  to  the  diamond;  likewise  L. 
Finot,  Lapidaires  indiens,  p.  xxvu).  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  Plinian  definition 
is  an  echo  of  a  tradition  hailing,  with  the  diamond,  directly  from  India. 

3  The  Indian  diamond  is  mentioned  also  by  Ptolemy,  according  to  whom  the 
greatest  bulk  of  diamonds  was  found  with  the  Savara  tribe  (Pauly,  Realenzyklo- 
padie,  Vol.  I,  col.  344),  by  the  Periplus  Maris  Erythraei  (56,  ed.  Fabricius,  p.  98), 
and  by  Dionysius  Periegetes  (second  century  a.d.)  in  his  poem  describing  the 
habitable  earth  (Orbis  descriptio,  Verse  11 19).  The  diamond  is  doubtless  included 
also  among  the  precious  stones  cast  by  the  sea  upon  the  shores  of  India,  mentioned 
by  Curtius  Rufus,  and  among  Strabo's  precious  stones,  some  of  which  the  Indians 
collect  from  among  the  pebbles  of  the  river,  and  others  of  which  they  dig  out  of  the 
earth  (McCrindle,  Invasion  of  India  by  Alexander,  pp.  187-188).  Alexander's 
expedition  made  the  Greeks  familiar  with  the  diamond,  hence  it  is  mentioned  by 
Theophrastus  (De  lapidibus,  19),  who  compares  the  carbuncle  with  the  adamas.  I 
do  not  agree  with  the  objections  raised  by  some  authors  against  Theophrastus' 


Acquaintance  of  the  Ancients  with  the  Diamond         45 

the  Periplus x  expressly  relates  of  the  exportation  from  India  of  diamonds 
and  hyacinths.  Further,  the  Annals  of  the  T'ang  Dynasty2  come  to 
our  aid  with  the  statement  that  India  has  diamonds,  sandal-wood,  and 
saffron,  and  barters  these  articles  with  Ta  Ts'in  (the  Roman  Orient), 
Fu-nan,  and  Kiao-chi.  The  fact  therefore  remains,  as  attested  by  the 
Chinese,  that  India  shipped  diamonds  to  the  West.3 

There  is,  moreover,  in  the  chapter  of  Pliny,  positive  evidence  voicing 
the  cause  of  the  diamond.  He  is  familiar  with  the  hardness  of  the 
stone,  which  is  beyond  expression  (quippe  duritia  est  inenarrabilis) ; 
and,  owing  to  its  indomitable  powers,  the  Greeks  bestowed  on  it  the 
name  adamas  ("unconquerable").4  He  is  acquainted,  as  set  forth  on 
p.  31,  with  the  technical  use  of  diamond  splinters,  which  cut  the  very 
hardest  substances  known.  If  one  of  the  apocryphal  varieties  of  the 
diamond,  styled  siderites  (from  Greek  sideros,  "iron"),  a  stone  which 
shines  like  iron,  is  reported  to  differ  in  its  main  properties  from  the  true 
diamond,  inasmuch  as  it  will  break  when  struck  by  the  hammer,  and 
admit  of  being  perforated  by  other  kinds  of  adamas,  this  observation 

acquaintance  with  the  diamond.  H.  Bretzl  (Botanische  Forschungen  des  Ale- 
xanderzuges)  has  well  established  the  fact  that  he  commanded  an  admirable  knowl- 
edge of  the  vegetation  of  India;  thus  he  may  well  have  heard  also  of  the  Indian 
diamond  from  his  same  informants.  It  is  not  necessary  to  assume,  however,  that  he 
knew  the  diamond  from  autopsy,  as  he  does  not  describe  it,  but  mentions  it  only 
passingly  in  the  single  passage  referred  to;  also  H.  O.  Lenz  (Mineralogie  der  alten 
Griechen  und  R&mer,  p.  19)  holds  the  same  opinion.  It  is  difficult  to  see  that 
Theophrastus  could  have  compared  with  the  carbuncle  any  other  stone  than  the 
diamond. 

1  Ch.  56  (ed.  of  Fabricius,  p.  98).  G.  F.  Kunz  (Curious  Lore  of  Precious  Stones, 
p.  72)  observes,  "The  writer  is  disinclined  to  believe  that  the  ancients  knew  the  dia- 
mond." The  same  author,  however,  believes  in  the  existence  of  diamonds  in  ancient 
India;  but  Rome  then  coveted  all  the  precious  stones  of  India,  and  he  who  accepts 
the  Indian  diamond  as  a  fact  must  be  consistent  in  granting  it  to  the  ancients,  too. 

1  T'ang  shu,  Ch.  221  A,  p.  10  b. 

*  Indian  diamonds  were  apparently  traded  also  to  Ethiopia,  for  Pliny  records 
the  opinion  of  the  ancients  that  the  adamas  was  only  to  be  discovered  in  the  mines 
of  Ethiopia  between  the  temple  of  Mercury  and  the  island  of  Mero*  (veteres  eum 
in  Aethiopum  metallis  tantum  inveniri  existimavere  inter  delubrum  Mercuri  et 
insulam  Merofin).  Ajasson's  comment  that  the  Ethiopia  here  mentioned  is  in  reality 
India,  and  that  the  "Temple  of  Mercury"  means  the  Brahmaloka,  or  "Temple  of 
Brahma"  (it  does  not  mean  "temple,"  but  "world"  of  Brahma)  is  of  course  wrong. 
The  reference  to  MeroS,  the  capital  of  Ethiopia,  at  once  renders  this  opinion  im- 
possible; besides,  Pliny's  geographical  terminology  is  always  distinct  as  to  the  use 
of  India  and  Ethiopia.  The  tradition  of  Ethiopic  diamonds  is  confirmed  by  the 
Greek  Romance  of  Alexander  (in,  23),  in  which  Queen  Candace  in  the  palace  of 
Meroe  presents  Alexander  with  a  crown  of  diamonds  (adamas;  see  A.  Ausfeld,  Der 
griechische  Alexanderroman,  pp.  101,  192). 

*  Invictum  is  given  by  Pliny  himself  (procemium  of  lib.  xx)  as  if  it  were  a  transla- 
tion of  the  Greek  word.  The  Physiologus  says  that  the  stone  is  called  adamas 
because  it  overpowers  everything,  but  itself  cannot  be  overpowered. 


46  The  Diamond 

plainly  bears  out  the  fact  that  Pliny  and  his  contemporaries  knew  very 
well  the  properties  of  the  real  diamond,  and,  moreover,  that  diamond 
affects  diamond.  In  short,  due  allowance  being  made  for  inaccuracies 
of  the  tradition  of  the  Plinian  text  and  the  imperfect  state  of  mineral- 
ogical  knowledge  of  that  period,  no  fair  criticism  can  escape  from 
the  conclusion  that  Pliny's  adamas  is  nothing  but  the  diamond.  The 
fact  that  also  other  stones  superficially  resembling  diamonds  were  at 
that  time  taken  for  or  passed  off  as  diamonds,  cannot  change  a  jot  of 
this  conclusion.  Such  substitutes  have  been  in  vogue  everywhere  and 
at  all  times,  and  they  are  not  even  spared  our  own  age.1  Pliny's  con- 
demnation of  these  as  not  belonging  to  the  genus  (degeneres)  and  only 
enjoying  the  authority  of  the  name  (nominis  tantum  auctoritatem 
habent)  reveals  his  discriminative  critical  faculty  and  his  ability  to 
distinguish  the  real  thing  from  the  frame-up.  The  perpetuity  of  the 
Plinian  observations  in  regard  to  the  adamas  among  the  Arabs,  Persians, 
Armenians,  Hindu,  and  Chinese,  who  all  have  focussed  on  the  diamond 
this  classical  lore  inherited  by  him,  throws  additional  evidence  of  most 
weighty  and  substantial  character  into  the  balance  of  the  ancients' 
thorough  acquaintance  with  the  real  diamond.  The  Arabs,  assuredly, 
were  not  feeble-minded  idiots  when  they  coined  their  word  almas  from 
the  classical  adamas  for  the  designation  of  the  diamond,  and  this  test  of 
the  language  persists  to  the  present  day.  The  Arab  traders  and 
jewellers  certainly  were  sufficiently  wide  awake  to  know  what  a  dia- 
mond is,  and  their  Hindu  and  Chinese  colleagues  were  just  as  keen  in 
recognizing  diamonds,  long  before  any  science  of  mineralogy  was  estab- 
lished in  Europe.  The  world-wide  propagation  of  the  same  notions, 
the  same  lore,  the  same  valuation  connected  with  the  stone,  is  iron-hard 
proof  for  the  fact  that  in  the  West  and  East  alike  this  stone  was  the 
diamond.  This  uniformity,  coherence,  perpetuity,  and  universality 
of  tradition  form  a  still  mightier  stronghold  than  the  interpretation  of 
the  Plinian  text.  For  this  double  reason  there  can  be  no  doubt  also  that 
the  kin-kang  of  Chinese  tradition  is  the  diamond. 

Cut  Diamonds. —  Another  question  is  whether  the  ancients  were 
cognizant  of  the  diamond  in  its  rough  natural  state  only,  or  whether 
they  understood  how  to  cut  and  polish  it.     This  problem  has  caused 


1  There  were  rock-crystals  found  in  northern  Europe  in  the  seventeenth  century 
and  passed  under  the  name  of  diamond.  Johannes  Scheffer  (Lappland,  p.  416, 
Frankfurt,  1675)  tells  that  the  lapidaries  sometimes  used  to  polish  these  crystals 
or  diamonds  of  Lapland  and  to  sell  them  as  good  diamonds,  even  frequently  deceive 
experts  with  them,  because  they  are  not  inferior  in  lustre  to  the  Oriental  stones.  In 
the  eighteenth  century  crystal  was  still  called  "false  diamond"  (J.  Kunckell, 
Ars  Vitraria,  p.  451,  Nurnberg,  1743). 


Cut  Diamonds  47 

an  endless  controversy.  Lessing,  in  his  "Briefe  antiquarischen 
Inhalts"  (No.  32),  which  it  is  still  as  enjoyable  as  profitable  seriously  to 
study,  has  shown  with  a  great  amount  of  acumen  that  the  ancients 
possessed  no  knowledge  whatever  of  diamond-dust,  and  therefore  did 
not  know  how  to  polish  the  diamond.  This  opinion,  however,  did  not 
remain  uncontradicted.  The  opposite  view  is  heralded  by  Blumner,1 
who  argues,  "  Despite  the  lack  of  positive  testimony,  we  cannot  forbear 
assuming  that  the  ancients  understood,  though  possibly  imperfectly, 
how  to  polish  the  diamond.  Since  only  in  this  state  is  the  stone  capable 
of  displaying  its  marvellous  lustre,  play  of  colors,  and  translucency,  its 
extraordinary  valuation  among  the  ancients  would  not  be  very  intel- 
ligible had  they  known  it  merely  as  an  uncut  gem."  This  argument  is 
rather  sentimental  and  intuitive  than  well  founded.  As  far  as  the  plain 
facts  are  concerned,  Lessing  is  right;  and,  what  is  even  more  remarkable, 
has.  remained  right  from  1768,  the  date  at  which  he  wrote,  up  to  the 
present.  No  cut  diamond  of  classical  antiquity  has  as  yet  come  to 
light ;  and  in  order  to  pass  audaciously  over  the  body  of  Pliny,  and  have 
us  believe  what  he  does  not  say,  such  a  palpable  piece  of  evidence  would 
be  indispensable.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  neither  Pliny  nor  any  other 
ancient  writer  loses  a  word  about  diamond-dust;  nor  does  he  mention 
that  the  diamond  can  be  cut  and  polished,  or  that  it  was  so  treated;  nor 
does  he  express  himself  on  the  adamantine  lustre.2  This  silence  is 
sufficiently  ominous  to  guard  ourselves,  I  should  think,  against  the  rash 
assumption  that  the  ancients  might  have  cut  the  diamond.  Its  high 
appreciation  is  quite  conceivable  without  the  application  of  this  process, 
for  even  the  uncut  diamond  possesses  brilliancy  and  lustre  enough  to 
allure  a  human  soul.  The  possibility  would  remain  that  the  ancients 
may  have  received  worked  diamonds,  ready  made,  straight  from  India.3 


1  Technologie,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  233. 

* Beckmann  (Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  der  Erfindungen,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  541)  held 
that  the  ancients  employed  diamond-dust  for  the  cutting  of  stones  other  than  the 
diamond,  but  he  denied  that  they  polished  the  diamond  with  its  own  dust.  This  is 
certainly  a  contradiction  in  itself:  if  the  ancients  knew  the  utility  of  diamond-dust, 
there  is  no  reason  why  they  should  not  have  applied  it  to  the  diamond;  and  if  they 
did  not  facet  diamonds,  it  is  very  plain  that  they  lacked  the  knowledge  of  diamond- 
dust.  Bauer  (Edelsteinkunde,  p.  302,  2d  ed.)  observes,  "In  how  far  the  ancients 
understood  how  to  polish  diamonds,  or  at  least  to  improve  existing  crystal  surfaces 
by  polishing,  is  not  known  with  certainty.  From  the  traditions  handed  down, 
however,  it  becomes  evident  that  this  art  was  not  wholly  unknown  to  the  ancients.' * 
The  latter  statement  is  without  basis. 

*  This  hypothesis  was  formulated  by  H.  O.  Lenz  (Mineralogie  der  alten  Griechen 
und  R&mer,  pp.  39,  164,  Gotha,  1861),  who  concluded  from  what  the  ancients  said 
regarding  the  brilliancy  of  the  stone  that  diamonds  cut  and  polished  in  the  country  of 
their  origin  were  traded  to  Europe. 


48  The  Diamond 

Here,  again,  it  is  unfortunate  that  our  knowledge  fails  us:  the  ancient 
Indian  sources  exhibit  the  same  lack  of  information  on  the  identical 
points  as  does  Pliny.  S.  K.  Aiyangar1  justly  points  out  that  in  the 
description  of  the  diamond,  as  given  in  the  Arthacastra  (quoted  above, 
p.^16),  "  there  is  nothing  to  warrant  the  inference  that  diamonds  were 
artificially  cut;  but,  perhaps,  the  fact  that  diamonds  were  used  to  bore 
holes  in  other  substances  makes  it  clear  that  lapidary  work  was  not 
unknown."  A  very  late  work  on  gems,  the  Agastimata,  in  an  appendix 
of  still  later  date,  contains  a  curious  passage  in  which  the  cutting  of 
diamonds  is  prohibited:  "The  stone  which  is  cut  with  a  blade,  or 
which  is  worn  out  by  repeated  friction,  becomes  useless,  and  its  benevo- 
lent virtue  disappears;  the  stone,  on  the  contrary,  which  is  absolutely 
natural  has  all  its  virtue."  L.  Finot,2  to  whom  we  owe  the  edition  and 
translation  of  this  work,  rightly  points  out  that  cutting  and  polishing  are 
clearly  understood  here;  but  another  passage  in  the  same  treatise  speaks 
of  it  as  a  normal  process,  without  forbidding  what  precedes  the  setting 
of  diamonds  for  ornaments,  and  we  regret  with  Finot  that  these  passages 
cannot  be  dated.  Garcia  ab  Horto,  who  wrote  in  1563,  informs  us 
that  by  the  people  of  India  natural  diamonds  were  preferred  to  the  cut 
ones,  in  opposition  to  the  Portuguese.3  Tavernier  (1605-89)  describes 
the  diamond-polishing  in  the  Indian  mines  by  means  of  diamond-dust.4 
In  the  face  of  the  Agastimata  and  Garcia's  statements,  suspicion  is  ripe 
that  diamond-cutting  was  introduced  into  India  only  by  the  Portuguese,6 
and  that  the  employment  of  uncut  stones  was  the  really  national  fashion 
of  India.  The  passage  in  the  additional  chapter  of  the  Agastimata, 
as  stated,  cannot  be  dated  with  certainty,  but  it  seems  more  probable 
that  it  falls  within  the  time  of  the  Portuguese  era  of  India  than  that  it 

1  Quarterly  Journal  of  the  Mythic  Society,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  130. 

*  Lapidaires  indiens,  p.  xxx. 

s  Si  come  una  vergine  si  preferisce  ad  una  donna  corrotta,  cosi  il  diamante  dalla 
natura  polito,  e  acconcio  s'ha  da  preferire  a  quello,  che  dall'arte  e  stato  lavorato. 
Al  contrario  fanno  i  Portughesi,  stimando  piu  quelli,  che  sono  dall'artincio  dell'  huomo 
acconci,  e  lavorati  (Italian  edition,  p.  180). 

4  "There  are  at  this  mine  numerous  diamond-cutters,  and  each  has  only  a  steel 
wheel  of  about  the  size  of  our  plates.  They  place  but  one  stone  on  each  wheel, 
and  pour  water  incessantly  on  the  wheel  until  they  have  found  the  'grain'  of  the 
stone.  The  'grain'  being  found,  they  pour  on  oil  and  do  not  spare  diamond-dust, 
although  it  is  expensive,  in  order  to  make  the  stone  run  faster,  and  they  weight  it 
much  more  heavily  than  we  do.  .  .  .  The  Indians  are  unable  to  give  the  stones  so 
lively  a  polish  as  we  give  them  in  Europe;  and  this,  I  believe,  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
their  wheel  does  not  run  so  smoothly  as  ours"  (ed.  of  V.  Ball,  Vol.  II,  pp.  57,  58). 

5  Also  Bauer  (Edelsteinkunde,  p.  302,  2d  ed.)  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  diamond- 
cutting  of  Europe,  which  was  developed  from  the  end  of  the  middle  ages,  has  not 
remained  without  influence  upon  India,  and  that  perhaps  the  process  was  introduced 
from  Europe  into  India,  or  was  at  least  resuscitated  there. 


Cut  Diamonds  49 

should  be  much  earlier.  It  is  safer  to  adopt  this  point  of  view,  as  the 
Ratnapariksha  of  Buddhabhatta,  who  presumably  wrote  somewhat 
earlier  than  the  sixth  century,  does  not  mention  the  cutting  of  dia- 
monds,1 nor  does  the  mineralogical  treatise  of  Narahari  from  the  fifteenth 
century.2  At  all  events,  we  have  as  yet  no  ancient  source  of  Indian 
literature  in  which  the  cutting  of  diamonds  is  distinctly  set  forth.  The 
discovery  of  such  a  passage,  or,  what  is  still  more  preferable,  archaeological 
evidence  in  the  shape  of  ancient  cut  diamonds,  may  possibly  correct 
our  knowledge  in  the  future.  For  the  present  it  seems  best  to  adhere 
to  the  view  that  the  polishing  of  diamonds  was  foreign  to  ancient  India, 
and  a  process  but  recently  taught  by  European  instructors.  Certainly, 
we  should  not  base  our  present  conclusions  on  hoped-for  future  dis- 
coveries, which  may  even  never  be  made,  nor  should  we  shift  evidence 
appropriate  to  the  last  centuries  into  times  of  antiquity,  nor  is  there 
reason  to  persuade  ourselves  that  the  knowledge  of  the  diamond  on  the 
part  of  the  Indians  goes  back  to  the  period  of  a  boundless  antiquity 
(see  p.  16).  The  Chinese  contribute  nothing  to  the  elucidation  of  this 
problem;  and  certain  it  is  that  they  merely  kept  the  diamonds  in  the 
condition  in  which  they  received  them  from  the  Roman  Orient,  Fu-nan, 
India,  and  the  Arabs,  without  attempting  to  improve  the  appearance 
of  the  stones.  The  European  tradition  that  Ludwig  van  Berquen  of 
Brugge  in  1476  was  the  "inventor"  of  the  process  of  polishing  diamonds 
by  means  of  diamond-dust,  is,  of  course,  nothing  more  than  a  con- 
ventional story  (une  fable  convenue).  As  shown  by  Bauer,3  diamonds 
were  roughly  or  superficially  polished  as  early  as  the  middle  ages;  and 
Berquen  improved  the  process  and  arranged  the  facets  with  stricter 
regularity,  whereby  the  color  effect  was  essentially  enhanced.4  The 
early  history  of  the  technique  in  Europe  is  not  yet  exactly  ascertained.6 

1  L.  Finot  (/.  c,  p.  xxx),  it  is  true,  alludes  to  a  passage  of  this  work  where,  in  his 
opinion,  it  is  apparently  the  question  of  diamond-polishing.  The  text,  however,  runs 
thus:  "The  sages  must  not  employ  for  ornament  a  diamond  with  a  visible  flaw;  it 
can  serve  only  for  the  polishing  of  gems,  and  its  value  is  slight."  This  only  means 
that  deficient  diamonds  were  used  for  the  working  of  stones  other  than  the  diamond. 

2  R.  Garbe,  Die  indischen  Mineralien,  pp.  80-83. 
*  L.  c,  p.  303. 

4  The  Berquen  legend  was  firmly  established  in  the  seventeenth  century,  under 
the  influence  of  one  of  his  descendants.  Robert  de  Berquen  (in  his  book  Les 
merveilles  des  Indes  orientales  et  occidentales,  p.  13,  Paris,  1669),  after  disdainfully 
talking  about  the  rough  diamonds  obtained  from  India,  soars  into  this  panegyric  of 
his  ancestor:  "  Le  Ciel  doua  ce  Louis  de  Berquen  qui  estoit  natif  de  Bruges,  comme  un 
autre  Bezell^e,  de  cet  esprit  singulier  ou  genie,  pour  en  trouver  de  luy  mesme  l'inven- 
tion  et  en  venir  heureusement  a  bout."     ThefMollows  the  story  of  the  "invention." 

6H.  Sokeland  (Zeitschrift  fur  Ethnologie,  Vol.  XXIII,  1891,  Verhandlungen, 
p.  621)  took  up  this  question  again,  and  thought  that  definite  proof  had  not  been 


So  The  Diamond 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  two  testimonies  in  witness  of  the  fact 
that,  even  though  a  certain  crude  method  of  treating  diamonds  may 
have  lingered  in  the  Orient,  the  superior  European  achievements  along 
this  line  were  received  by  Oriental  nations  as  a  surprising  novelty.  The 
Armenian  lapidarium  of  the  seventeenth  century  states,1  "No  one 
besides  the  Franks  (Europeans)  understands  how  to  polish  and  to  bore 
the  diamond.  The  polished  stone  of  four  carats  is  sold  at  ten  thousand 
otmani.  The  Franks  at  Aleppo  say  that  the  diamond,  though  it  is  the 
king  of  all  precious  stones,  is  of  no  utility  without  polishing,  because 
in  its  raw  state  admixtures  will  remain,  which  may  often  not  be  notice- 
able in  the  cut  stone."  The  Chinese  made  their  first  acquaintance  with 
polished  diamonds  among  the  Portuguese  of  Macao,  who,  they  say,  base 
their  valuation  on  this  quality.2 

Acquaintance  of  the  Chinese  with  the  Diamond. —  Let  us  now 
examine  the  objections  which  have  been  raised  by  sinologues  to  the 
identification  of  the  term  kin-kang  with  the  diamond.  F.  Porter 
Smith,3  who  made  rather  inexact  statements  on  the  subject,  in  1871 
contested  that  kin-kang  denotes  the  real  diamond,  and  treated  it  under 
the  title  "corundum,"  which  arbitrarily  he  takes  for  "a  kind  of  adaman- 
tine spar."  Corundum,  he  states,  crystallizes  in  six-sided  prisms,  but 
the  Chinese  siliceous  stone  is  said  to  be  octahedral  in  form.  If  this  be 
really  said  by  the  Chinese,  it  is  evidence  that  the  stone  in  question  is  the 
diamond,  not  corundum;  and  the  latter,  in  its  main  varieties  of  ruby  and 
sapphire,  is  well  known  to  the  Chinese  under  a  number  of  terms.  Black- 
ish emery,  containing  iron,  it  is  thought  by  Smith,  is  also  described 

brought  forward  for  the  assertion  that  the  ancients  did  not  employ  diamond-dust; 
but  he  recruited  no  new  facts  for  the  discussion,  and  merely  referred  to  the  old  fable 
that  the  Bishop  Marbodus  (1035-1123)  should  have  been  familiar  with  diamond- 
dust.  Marbodus,  however,  in  his  famous  treatise  De  lapidibus  pretiosis,  most 
obviously  speaks  only  of  diamond-splinters  (huius  fragmentis  gemmae  sculptuntur 
acutis;  in  the  earliest  French  translation,  des  pieccettes  |Ki  en  esclatent  agu£ttes| 
Les  altres  gemmes  sunt  talliees|  E  gentement  aparelliees. —  L.  Pannier,  Lapidaires 
francais  du  moyen  age,  p.  36),  as  translated  correctly  also  by  King  (Antique  Gems, 
p.  392);  and  he  does  so,  not  because  he  was  possibly  acquainted  with  them,  but  be- 
cause he  copied  this  matter,  as  most  of  his  data,  from  Pliny.  Likewise  Konrad  von 
Megenberg,  in  his  Book  of  Nature  written  1349-50  (ed.  of  F.  Pfeiffer,  p.  433), 
states  only  that  other  hard  precious  stones  are  graved  with  pointed  diamond-pieces. 
It  means  little,  as  insisted  upon  by  Sokeland,  that  A.  Hirth  and  Mariette  second  the 
cause  of  the  ancients  in  the  use  of  diamond-dust,  as  their  opinion  is  not  based  on  any 
text  to  this  effect  (such  does  not  exist),  but  merely  on  the  impression  received  from 
certain  engraved  gems.  The  conclusion,  however,  that  these  could  not  have  been 
worked  otherwise  than  by  means  of  diamond-dust,  is  unwarranted,  and  plainly 
contradicted  by  Pliny's  data  regarding  the  treatment  of  precious  stones. 

1  Russian  translation  of  Patkanov,  p.  4. 

■  Wu  li  siao  shi,  Ch.  8,  p.  22. 

*  Contributions^toward  the  Materia  Medica  of  China,  pp.  74,  85. 


Acquaintance  of  the  Chinese  with  the  Diamond  51 

under  this  heading  in  the  Pin  ts'ao.  We  have  seen  that  what  is  de- 
scribed in  this  work,  owing  to  the  strict  conformity  with  classical  tradi- 
tions, refers  to  nothing  but  the  diamond;  and  it  was  the  black  diamonds 
which  were  chosen  as  graving-implements.  According  to  Smith, 
Cambodja,  India,  Asia  Minor,  the  country  of  the  Hui-k'i  (Uigur),  and 
other  countries  of  Asia,  are  said  to  possess  this  stone.  Cambodja  is 
intended  for  Fu-nan;  and  the  country  of  the  Uigur,  as  has  been  shown, 
is  merely  the  theatre  of  action  for  the  legend  of  the  Diamond  Valley  in 
the  version  of  Chou  Mi  (this  statement  is  devoid  of  any  geographical 
value).  If  the  prefecture  of  Shun-ning  in  Yun-nan,  as  stated  by  Smith, 
yields  the  present  supply  of  corundum  used  in  cutting  gems,  this  is  an 
entirely  different  question.  If  the  name  kin-kang  is  bestowed  on 
corundum-points,  it  is  a  commercial  term,  which  does  not  disprove  that 
the  kin-kang  of  ancient  tradition  was  the  diamond,  or  prove  that  it 
was  a  kind  of  corundum.  The  diamond-points  formerly  imported  were 
naturally  scarce;  and  the  Chinese,  recognizing  the  high  usefulness  of 
this  implement,  were  certainly  eager  to  discover  a  similar  material  in 
their  country,  fit  to  take  the  place  of  the  imported  article.1  This  is  a 
process  which  repeated  itself  in  China  numerous  times:  the  impetus 
received  from  abroad  acted  as  a  stimulus  to  domestic  research.  If  such 
a  stone  was  ultimately  found,  it  was  termed  kin-kang,  not  because  this 
stone  was  confounded  with  the  diamond,  but  for  the  natural  reason  that 
it  was  turned  to  the  same  use  as  the  diamond-point;  in  other  words,  the 
name  in  this  case  does  not  relate  to  the  stone  as  a  mineralogical  species, 
but  to  the  stone  in  its  function  as  an  implement.  Consequently  it  is 
inadmissible  to  draw  any  scientific  inferences  from  the  modern  applica- 
tion of  the  word  kin-kang  as  to  the  character  of  the  stone  mentioned  in 
the  earlier  records  of  the  Chinese. 

A.  J.  C.  Geerts,2  in  his  very  useful,  though  occasionally  uncritical 
work,  charges  the  Chinese  books  with  the  defect  of  having  constantly 
confounded  the  diamond  with  corundum,  adamantine  spar,  pyrope, 

1  This  is  proved  by  the  Arabs.  The  Arabic  lapidarium  of  the  ninth  century, 
attributed  by  tradition  to  Aristotle,  demonstrates  that  Chinese  emery  was  known  to 
the  Arabs:  the  localities  where  it  is  found  are  the  islands  of  the  Chinese  Sea,  and  it 
occurs  there  as  a  coarse  sand  in  which  are  also  larger  and  smaller  hard  stones  (Ruska, 
Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  p.  151).  The  Arabs  certainly  did  not  confound  this 
Chinese  emery  with  the  diamond,  nor  did  the  Chinese.  This  is  demonstrated  also 
by  Ibn  Khordadbeh,  who  wrote  his  Book  of  the  Routes  and  Kingdoms  between  844 
and  848,  and  according  to  whom  diamond  and  emery,  the  latter  for  polishing  metal, 
were  exported  from  Ceylon  (G.  Ferrand,  Relations  de  voyages  arabes,  persans  et 
turks  rel.  a  l'Extr6me-Orient,  Vol.  I,  p.  31).  Diamond  and  emery,  accordingly, 
were  distinct  matters  in  the  eyes  of  the  Arabs,  Ceylonese,  and  Chinese. 

1  Les  produits  de  la  nature  japonaise  et  chinoise,  pp.  201-202,  356-358  (Yoko- 
hama, 1878,  1883). 


52  The  Diamond 

almandine,  zircon,  etc.  This  list  is  somewhat  extended;  and  whoever 
deems  its  length  insufficient  may  stretch  it  ad  libitum  under  screen  of 
the  "etc."  A  charge  of  confusion  is  an  easy  means  of  overcoming  a 
difficult  subject  and  setting  a  valve  on  serious  investigation.  It  is  to 
be  apprehended  lest  in  this  case  the  confusion  is  rather  in  the  mind  of 
Geerts  than  in  that  of  the  Chinese,  and  results  from  his  failure  to  read 
the  Chinese  texts  with  critical  eyes.  The  first  conspicuous  confusion  of 
Geerts  is,  that  on  p.  202  he  grants  Li  Shi-ch6n  the  privilege  of  indicating 
the  true  diamond,1  while  this  license  is  abrogated  on  p.  357 :  "The  place 
of  the  kin-kang  between  iron  pyrite  and  aluminous  schist  is  contrary  to 
the  idea  that  this  author  intended  to  designate  under  this  name  the 
diamond."  What  neither  Geerts,  nor  his  predecessor  Smith,  nor  his 
successor  de  Mely,  understood,  is  the  plain  fact  that  Li  Shi-ch6n  does  not 
speak  at  all  of  the  diamond  as  a  stone,  but  of  the  diamond-point  as  an 
implement.  For  this  reason  it  is  embodied  in  the  chapter  on  stones,  and 
is  logically  followed  by  a  discussion  of  stone  needles  used  in  acupuncture. 
The  term  "kin-kang  stone"  means  to  Li  Shi-ch&i  nothing  but  the 
diamond-point.  The  fact  that,  besides,  the  diamond  was  known  to 
the  Chinese  as  a  precious  stone,  is  evidenced  by  the  text  of  the  Tsin  k'i 
kil  chu  (p.  35),  where  the  diamond  is  spoken  of  as  a  precious  stone  (pao), 
and  by  the  Ko  chi  king  yiian,2  where  the  stone  is  designated  as  a  "dia- 
mond jewel"  (kin-kang  pao)  and  classed  with  jade  and  gems  in  the 
chapter  on  precious  objects  (chen  pao  lei).3  It  is  not  necessary  to  push 
any  further  this  criticism  of  Geerts,  who  hazards  other  eccentric  con- 
clusions in  this  section.  The  evidence  brought  together  is  overwhelm- 
ing in  demonstrating  that  the  kin-kang  in  the  texts  offered  by  Li  Shi- 
ch6n,  and  in  ancient  Chinese  tradition  generally,  is  the  diamond.  This 
uniform  interpretation,  inspired  by  an  analysis  of  all  traditions  in  the 
known  ancient  world,  instead  of  an  appeal  to  confusion  with  a  choice 
of  fanciful  possibilities,  seems  to  be  the  best  guarantor  for  the  exactness 
of  the  result. 


1  The  text  referred  to  is  that  of  Pao-p'u-tse  regarding  Fu-nan;  but  it  is  Li  Shi-ch6n 
who  is  made  responsible  for  it  by  Geerts.  This  uncritical  method  of  Smith,  Geerts, 
and  de  Mely,  who  load  everything  on  to  the  Pin  ts'ao  or  its  author  Li  Shi-ch6n,  with- 
out taking  the  trouble  to  unravel  the  various  sources  quoted  by  him  and  to  study  the 
traditions  with  historical  criticism,  is  the  principal  reason  for  their  failure  in  reaching 
positive  results. 

2Ch.  33,  p.  3  b. 

8  In  the  great  cyclopaedia  T'ai  p'ing  yii  Ian  (Ch.  813)  the  notes  on  the  diamond 
are  arranged  in  the  section  on  metals,  being  preceded  by  those  on  copper  and  iron. 
The  cyclopaedia  T'u  shu  tsi  ch'ing  has  adopted  the  scheme  of  Li  Shi-ch6n,  placing  the 
diamond  in  the  division  "stones."  It  is  content  to  reiterate  simply  Li  Shi-chen's 
notes,  so  that  this  is  one  of  the  poorest  chapters  of  this  thesaurus. 


Acquaintance  of  the  Chinese  with  the  Diamond  53 

The  solidity  and  exactness  of  Chinese  tradition  is  vividly  illustrated 
also  by  another  fact.  The  term  kin-kang  for  the  diamond  was  coined 
by  the  Chinese  as  a  free  adaptation  of  the  Sanskrit  word  vajra,  and, 
like  the  latter,  signifies  with  them  both  the  mythical  weapon  of  Indra 
and  the  Indian  diamond.  We  noticed  that  in  the  oldest  historical 
account  of  the  diamond  relative  to  the  year  a.d.  277  this  precious  stone 
is  stated  as  coming  from  India,  but  that  at  the  same  time  traditions  of 
classical  antiquity  are  blended  with  this  early  narrative.  Again,  the 
Chinese  fully  recognized  the  stone  in  the  diamond-points  furnished  to 
them  in  the  channel  of  trade  with  the  Hellenistic  Orient,  and  were 
perfectly  aware  of  the  fact  that  diamonds  were  utilized  in  the  Roman 
Empire.1  In  the  most  diverse  parts  of  the  world,  wherever  commercial, 
diplomatic,  or  political  enterprise  carried  them,  the  Chinese  observed 
the  diamond,  and  in  every  case  applied  to  it  correctly  the  term  kin-kang. 
Thus,  according  to  their  Annals,  the  diamond  was  found  among  the 
precious  stones  peculiar  to  the  culture  of  Persia  under  the  Sassanians.2 

Among  the  early  mentions  of  diamonds  is  that  of  diamond  finger- 
rings  sent  in  a.d.  430  as  tribute  from  the  kingdom  Ho-lo-tan  on  the 
Island  of  Java.3    In  all  periods  of  their  history,  the  Chinese,  indeed, 

1  The  Hiian  chung  ki  of  the  fifth  century  expressly  states  that  diamonds  come 
from  (or  are  produced  in)  India  and  Ta  Ts'in  (T'ai  p'ing  yii  Ian,  Ch.  813,  p.  10). 

iPei  shi,  Ch.  97,  p.  7b;  Wei  shu,  Ch.  102,  p.  5b;  and  Sui  shu,  Ch.  83,  p.  7b. 
Dionysius  Periegetes,  who  lived  at  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Hadrian  (1 17-138), 
in  his  poem  Orbis  descriptio  (Verse  318),  says  that  the  diamond  is  found  in  the 
proximity  of  the  country  of  the  Agathyrsi  residing  north  of  the  Istros  (Danube); 
and  Ammianus  Marcellinus  (xxii,  8;  ed.  Nisard,  p.  175)  states  that  the  diamond 
abounds  among  this  people  (Agathyrsi,  apud  quos  adamantis  est  copia  lapidis). 
Blumner  (Technologie,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  232 ;  and  in  Pauly's  Realenzyklopadie,  Vol.  IX, 
col.  323)  infers  from  these  data  that  the  diamond-mines  recently  rediscovered  in  the 
Ural  seem  to  have  been  known  to  the  ancients;  but  this  conclusion  is  not  forcible. 
The  mines  in  the  Ural  began  to  be  opened  only  from  1829  (the  question  is  not  of  a 
rediscovery),  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  diamonds  were  found  there  at  any  earlier 
time.  Aside  from  this  fact,  a  respectable  distance  separated  the  Ural  from  the 
habitat  of  the  Agathyrsi,  who  occupied  the  territory  of  what  is  now  Siebenburgen. 
Already  Herodotus  (iv,  104)  knew  them  as  men  given  to  luxury  and  very  fond  of 
wearing  gold  ornaments.  The  interesting  point  is  that  the  Agathyrsi,  as  shown  by 
Justi  (Grundriss  der  iranischen  Philologie,  Vol.  II,  p.  442),  judging  from  the  remains 
of  their  language,  belonged  to  the  Scythian  stock  of  peoples,  speaking  an  Iranian 
language.  The  notes  of  Dionysius  and  Ammianus,  therefore,  confirm  for  a  Western 
tribe  of  this  extended  family  what  the  Chinese  report  about  Iran  proper,  and  it  may 
be  that  the  diamond  was  known  to  all  members  of  the  Iranian  group  in  the  first 
centuries  of  our  era. 

*  Pelliot  (Bull,  de  I'Ecole  franqaise,  Vol.  IV,  p.  271),  who  has  indicated  this 
passage,  sees  some  difficulties  in  the  term  kin  kang  chi  huan.  While  admitting 
that  kin-kang  is  the  diamond,  he  thinks  that  this  translation  does  not  fit  the  case, 
and  proposes  to  understand  the  term  in  the  sense  of  "rings  of  rock-crystal."  I  see 
no  difficulty  in  assuming  that  finger-rings  of  metal  set  with  a  diamond  are  here  in 
question.     This  passage,  indeed,  is  not  the  only  one  to  mention  diamond  rings.     In 


54  The  Diamond 

were  familiar  with  the  diamond.  To  Chao  Ju-kua  of  the  Sung  period, 
India  was  known  as  a  diamond-producing  country,  though  what  he  re- 
lates about  the  stone  is  copied  from  the  text  of  Pao-p'u-tse,  quoted 
above  (p.  21).1 

Judging  from  Marco  Polo's  report,2  the  best  diamonds  of  India  found 
their  way  to  the  Court  of  the  Great  Khan. 

The  Annals  of  the  Ming  record  embassies  from  Lu-mi  (Rum)  in  1548 
and  1554,  presenting  diamonds  among  other  objects.3  In  the  Ming 
period  eight  kinds  of  precious  stones  were  known  from  Hormuz,  the 
emporium  at  the  entrance  of  the  Persian  Gulf;  the  fifth  of  these  was  the 
diamond.4    At  the  same  time  diamonds  were  known  on  Java.6 

the  year  a.d.  428  of  the  Liu  Sung  dynasty,  the  King  of  Kia-p'i-li  (Kapila)  in  India 
sent  diamond  rings  to  the  Chinese  Court  (Sung  shu,  Ch.  97,  p.  4).  The  Nan  Jang 
i  wu  chi  (Account  of  Remarkable  Products  of  Southern  China,  by  Fang  Ts'ien-li 
of  the  fifth  century  or  earlier:  Bretschneider,  Bot.  Sin.,  pt.  1,  No.  544)  relates 
that  foreigners  are  fond  of  adorning  rings  with  diamonds  and  wearing  these  (T'ai 
p'ing  yii  Ian,  Ch.  813,  p.  10);  and  Li  Shi-chfin  (above,  p.  40)  is  familiar  with  diamond 
finger-rings.  The  Records  of  Champa  (Lin  yi  ki)  relate  that  the  King  of  Lin-yi 
(Champa),  Fan-ming-ta,  presented  to  the  Court  diamond  finger-rings  (T'u  shu  tsi 
ch'ing,  Pien  i  tien  96,  hui  k'ao  1,  p.  lib;  ,or  T'ai  p'ing  yii  Ian,  I.  c).  Daggers  and 
krisses  are  set  with  diamonds  in  Java,  and  they  are  used  for  inlaying  on  lance- 
heads  (Int.  Archiv  fur  Ethnographie,  Vol.  Ill,  1890,  pp.  94-97,  101).  The  ancients 
already  employed  the  diamond  as  a  ring-stone  (BLtJMNER,  Technologie,  Vol.  Ill, 
p.  232). 

1  Hirth  and  Rockhill,  Chau  Ju-kua,  p.  111. 

2  Edition  of  Yule  and  Cordier,  Vol.  II,  p.  361. 

*  Bretschneider,  China  Review,  Vol.  V,  p.  177. 

*  Si  yang  ch'ao  kung  tien  lu,  Ch.  c,  p.  7  (ed.  of  Pie  hia  chai  ts'ung  shu),  written  in 
1520  by  Huang  Sing-ts6ng  (regarding  this  work  see  Chinese  Clay  Figures,  p.  165, 
note  3;  Mayers,  China  Review,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  220;  and  Rockhill,  T'oung  Pao,  1915, 
p.  76). 

*  Ibid.,  Ch.  a,  p.  9. — It  is  somewhat  surprising  that  the  Chinese  were  not 
acquainted  with  the  diamonds  of  Borneo;  at  least  in  none  of  their  documents  touching 
their  relations  with  the  island  is  any  mention  made  of  the  diamonds  found  there. 
A  good  description  of  the  Borneo  mines,  their  sites,  working-methods,  output,  etc., 
is  given  by  M.  E.  Boutan  (Le  Diamant,  pp.  223-228,  with  map,  Paris,  1886), 
M.  Bauer  (Edelsteinkunde,  2d  ed.,  pp.  274-281),  and  in  an  article  of  the  Encyclo- 
paedic van  Nederlandsch-Indie  (Vol.  I,  pp.  445-446).  None  of  these  sources,  how- 
ever, bears  on  the  question  as  to  when  these  mines  were  opened,  or  when  the  first 
diamonds  were  discovered,  and  whether  this  was  done  by  natives  or  Europeans.  As 
nearly  as  I  can  make  out,  Borneo  diamonds  were  known  in  the  European  market  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  a  small  anonymous  book  entitled  The 
History  of  Jewels,  and  of  the  Principal  Riches  of  the  East  and  West,  taken  from  the 
Relation  of  Divers  of  the  most  Famous  Travellers  of  Our  Age  (London,  1671,  printed 
by  T.  N.  for  Hobart  Kemp,  at  the  Sign  of  the  Ship  in  the  Upper  Walk  of  the  New 
Exchange)  I  find  the  following:  "Let  me  therefore  tell  you,  that  none  has  been  yet 
able  in  all  the  world  to  discover  more  than  five  places,  from  whence  the  diamond  is 
brought,  viz.,  two  rivers  and  three  mines.  The  first  of  the  two  rivers  is  in  the  Isle 
Borneo,  under  the  equator,  on  the  east  of  the  Chersonesus  of  Gold,  and  is  called 
Succadan.    The  stones  fetched  from  thence  are  usually  clear  and  of  a  good  water, 


Stones  or  Nocturnal  Luminosity  55 

Stones  of  Nocturnal  Luminosity. —  We  noticed  that  the  diamond 
and  the  traditions  connected  with  it  reached  the  Chinese  chiefly  from 
the  Hellenistic  Orient.  We  should  therefore  be  justified  in  expecting 
also  that  the  historical  texts  relative  to  Ta  Ts'in  and  inserted  in  the 
Chinese  annals  might  contain  references  to  this  stone;  but  in  Hirth's 
classical  work  "China  and  the  Roman  Orient,"  where  all  these  docu- 
ments are  carefully  assembled  and  minutely  studied,  the  diamond  is 
not  even  mentioned.1  This,  at  first  sight,  is  very  striking;  but  it  would 
be  permissible  to  think  that  the  diamond  is  hidden  there  under  a  name 
not  yet  recognized  as  such.  In  the  first  principal  account  of  Ta  Ts'in 
embodied  in  the  Annals  of  the  Posterior  Han  Dynasty,2  we  read  that 

and  almost  all  bright  and  brisk,  whereof  no  other  reason  can  be  given,  but  that  they 
are  found  at  the  bottom  of  a  river  amongst  sand  which  is  pure,  and  has  no  mixture, 
or  tincture  of  other  earth,  as  in  other  places.  These  stones  are  not  discovered  till 
after  the  waters  which  fall  like  huge  torrents  from  the  mountains,  are  all  passed,  and 
men  have  much  to  do  to  attain  them,  since  few  persons  go  to  traffic  in  this  isle;  and 
forasmuch  as  the  inhabitants  do  fall  upon  strangers  who  come  ashore,  unless  it  be  by 
a  particular  favor.  Besides  that,  the  Queen  does  rarely  permit  any  to  transport 
them;  and  so  soon  as  ever  any  one  hath  found  one  of  them  they  are  obliged  to  bring 
it  to  her.  Yet  for  all  that  they  pass  up  and  down,  and  now  and  then  the  Hollanders 
buy  them  in  Batavia.  Some  few  are  found  there,  but  the  largest  do  not  exceed 
five  carats,  although  in  the  year  1648,  there  was  one  to  be  sold  in  Batavia  of  22  carats. 
I  have  made  mention  of  the  Queen  of  Borneo,  and  not  of  the  King,  because  that  the 
isle  is  always  commanded  by  a  woman,  for  that  people,  who  will  have  no  prince  but 
what  is  legitimate,  would  not  be  otherwise  assured  of  the  birth  of  males,  but  can  not 
doubt  of  those  of  the  females,  who  are  necessarily  of  the  blood  royal  on  their  mother's 
side,  she  never  marrying,  yet  having  always  the  command." 

1  India's  trade  in  diamonds  with  Ta  Ts'in,  already  pointed  out,  is  mentioned  in 
the  chapter  on  India,  inserted  in  the  T'ang  Annals  (Ch.  221  a,  p.  10 b). 

*  Hou  Han  shu,  Ch.  1 18,  p.  4b.  Both  the  night-shining  jewel  and  the  moonlight 
pearl  are  mentioned  together  also  in  the  Nestorian  inscription  of  Si-ngan  fu  and  in 
the  Chinese  Manichean  treatise  (Chavannes  and  Pelliot,  Traits  manicheen,  p.  68). 
In  the  latter  it  is  compassion  that  is  likened  to  the  "gem,  bright  like  the  moon,  which 
is  the  first  among  all  jewels."  The  T'ung  tien  of  Tu  Yu  (written  from  766  to  801) 
ascribes  genuine  pearls,  night-shining  and  moon-bright  gems,  to  the  country  of  the 
Pigmies  north-west  of  Sogdiana  (Tai  p'ing  yu  Ian,  Ch.  796,  p.  7  b).  In  that  fabulous 
work  Tung  ming  ki,  which  seems  to  go  back  to  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century  (Cha- 
vannes and  Pelliot,  /.  c,  p.  145),  the  Emperor  Wu  of  the  Han  dynasty  is  said 
to  have  obtained  in  102  b.c.  a  white  gem  (4>EJ^;  the  word  chu  means  not  only 
"pearl,  bead,"  but  also  "gems  generally"),  which  the  Emperor  wrapped  up  in  a 
piece  of  brocade.  It  was  as  if  it  reflected  the  light  of  the  moon,  whence  it  was  styled 
"moon-reflecting  gem"  (chao  yue  chu;  see  P'ei  win  yiin  fu,  Ch.  7A,  p.  107).  The 
San  Ts'in  ki,  a  book  of  the  fifth  century,  has  on  record  that  in  the  tumulus  of  the 
Emperor  Ts'in  Shi  pearls  shining  at  night  (ye  kuang  chu)  formed  a  palace  of  the  sun 
and  moon,  and  that  moonlight  pearls  (ming  yiie  chu)  suspended  in  the  grave  emitted 
light  by  day  and  night  (Tu  shu  tsi  ch'&ng,  chapter  on  pearls,  ki  shi,  I,  p.  3b).  The 
word  p'i  used  in  the  term  ye  kuang  p'i,  at  first  sight,  is  striking,  as  it  refers  to  a  per- 
forated circular  jade  disk,  such  as  occurs  in  ancient  China  (see  Jade,  p.  154),  but  does 
not  occur  in  the  Hellenistic  Orient.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  the  term  already 
pre-existed  in  China,  and  was  merely  transferred  to  a  jewel  of  the  Roman  Orient 


$6  The  Diamond 

"the  country  contains  much  gold,  silver,  and  rare  precious  stones,  par- 
ticularly the  jewel  that  shines  at  night  (ye  kuang  pli  ^kJ%J>zL  )>  or  the 
'jewel  of  noctural  luminosity,'  and  the  moonlight  pearl  (or  'pearl  as 

which  was  reported  to  the  Chinese  to  shine  at  night.  This  holds  good  also  of  the 
term  ming  ytie  chu.  In  T'oung  Pao  (1913,  p.  341)  and  Chinese  Clay  Figures  (p.  151) 
I  pointed  out  that  the  two  terms  are  employed  as  early  as  the  Shi  ki  of  Se-ma  Ts'ien. 
The  passage  occurs  in  the  Biography  of  Li  Se  (Ch.  87,  p.  2  b),  who  is  ill-famed  for 
the  extermination  of  Confucian  literature  under  the  Emperor  Ts'in  Shi,  and  who  died 
in  208  B.C.  (Giles,  Biographical  Dictionary,  p.  464).  In  another  passage  of  the  same 
work  the  two  terms  "moonlight  (or  moon-bright)  pearl"  and  "night-shining  jade- 
disk"  are  coupled  together,  used  in  a  figurative  sense  (Petillon,  Allusions  litt£raires, 
p.  242;  Lockhart,  Manual  of  Chinese  Quotations,  p.  397).  A  third  passage  leaves 
no  doubt  of  what  Se-ma  Ts'ien  understood  by  a  moonlight  pearl.  In  his  chapter 
treating  divination  from  the  tortoise-shell  (Ch.  128,  p.  2b),  he  defines  the  term  thus: 
"The  moonlight  pearl  is  produced  in  rivers  and  in  the  sea,  hidden  in  the  oyster- 
shell,  while  the  water-dragon  attacks  it.  When  the  sovereign  obtains  it,  he  will  hold 
in  submission  for  a  long  time  the  foreign  tribes  residing  in  the  four  quarters  of  the 
empire."  The  moonlight  pearl,  accordingly,  was  to  Se-ma  Ts'ien  and  his  contempo- 
raries a  river  or  marine  pearl  of  fine  quality,  worthy  of  a  king,  a  foreign  origin  of  it 
not  being  necessarily  implied.  The  philosopher  Mo  Ti  or  Mo-tse,  who  seems  to  have 
lived  after  Confucius  and  before  Mfing-tse,  mentions  the  night-shining  pearl  (ye  kuang 
chi  chu)  in  an  enumeration  of  prominent  treasures;  but  I  am  not  convinced  of  the 
authenticity  of  the  text  published  under  his  name,  which  was  doubtless  fabricated 
by  his  disciples  (compare  Grube,  Geschichte  der  chinesischen  Litteratur,  p.  129), 
and  tampered  with  by  subsequent  editors.  The  mention  of  this  pearl  in  Mo  Ti  and 
in  other  alleged  early  Taoist  writers  (compare  the  questionable  text  of  the  Shi  i  ki, 
quoted  by  de  Groot,  Religious  System  of  China,  Vol.  I,  p.  278)  may  be  a  retro- 
spective interpolation  as  well.  Se-ma  Ts'ien  must  be  regarded  as  the  only  early 
author  whose  references  in  this  case  may  be  relied  upon  as  authentic  and  contempo- 
raneous. (The  uncritical  notes  of  T.  DE  Lacouperie,  Babylonian  and  Oriental 
Record,  Vol.  VI,  1893,  p.  271,  with  their  fantastic  comment,  are  without  value.)  It 
seems  to  me,  that,  in  applying  the  identical  terms  to  real  objects  encountered  in  the 
Hellenistic  Orient,  the  Chinese  named  these  with  reference  to  that  passage  of  Se-ma 
Ts'ien  by  way  of  a  literary  allusion,  and  that  for  this  reason  the  word  p'i,  in  this 
instance,  is  not  to  be  accepted  literally,  as  has  been  done  by  Chavannes  (T'oung 
Pao,  1907,  p.  181 :  "l'anneau  qui  brille  pendant  la  nuit"),  but  that  the  term  ye  kuang 
p'i  represents  an  undivided  unit  denoting  a  precious  stone.  Further,  this  is  cor- 
roborated by  two  facts, —  first,  that  the  ancients  speak  of  precious  stones,  not  of 
rings  or  disks  brilliant  at  night;  and,  second,  that  Yu  Huan  (220-265),  in  his  Wei  Ho, 
has  altered  the  term  ye  kuang  p'i  into  ye  kuang  chu  ("night-shining  pearl  or  gem") 
with  regard  to  Ta  Ts'in,  evidently  guided  by  a  correct  feeling  that  this  modification 
would  more  appropriately  conform  to  the  object.  Moreover,  there  are  neither  in 
Greek  nor  in  Latin  any  exact  equivalents  which  might  have  served  as  models  for  the 
two  Chinese  expressions;  the  Chinese,  indeed,  possessed  the  latter  before  coming  into 
contact  with  the  Hellenistic-Roman  world;  ye  kuang  ("light  of  the  night")  is  an 
ancient  term  to  designate  the  moon,  which  appears  in  Huai-nan-tse  (Schlegel, 
Uranographie  chinoise,  p.  610).  This  point  of  terminology,  however,  must  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  matter-of-fact  problem.  Whatever  the  origin  of  the  Chinese 
terms  may  be,  from  the  time  of  intercourse  with  Ta  Ts'in,  they  strictly  refer  to  a 
certain  group  of  gems  occupying  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  antique  world  and  deeply 
impressing  the  minds  of  the  Chinese.  All  subsequent  Chinese  allusions  to  such  gems, 
even  though  connected  with  domestic  localities,  imply  distinct  reminiscences  of  the 
former  indelible  experience  made  in  the  Hellenistic  Orient. 


Stones  of  Nocturnal  Luminosity  57 

clear  as  the  moon,'  yiie  ming  chu  ft  tf\$%*)."  Hirth1  and  Chavannes2 
have  united  a  certain  number  of  classical  texts,  in  order  to  show  that 
the  notion  of  precious  stones,  and  especially  carbuncles,  shining  at 
night,  was  widely  propagated  in  Greek  and  Roman  times;  the  case, 
however,  deserves  a  more  critical  examination.  It  seems  to  me,  first 
of  all,  that  a  distinction  must  be  made  between  ye  kuang  p'i  and  yiie 
ming  chu.  These  two  different  terms  must  needs  refer  to  two  diverse 
groups  of  stones  and  correspondingly  different  traditions.  It  is  not 
difficult  to  identify  the  latter  of  the  two,  if  we  examine  our  Pliny. 
This  is  Pliny's  astrion,  of  which  he  says,  "Of  a  like  white  radiance8  is 
the  stone  called  astrion,  cognate  to  crystal,  and  occurring  in  India  and 
on  the  littoral  of  Patalene.  In  its  interior,  radiating  from  the  centre, 
shines  a  star  with  the  full  brilliancy  of  the  moon.  Some  account  for 
the  name  by  saying  that  the  stone  placed  opposite  to  the  stars  ab- 
sorbs their  refulgence  and  emits  it  again."4  Pliny's  "fulgore  pleno 
lunae  "  appears  as  the  basis  for  the  Chinese  term  yiie  ming  chu  (literally, 
"moon  shining  pearl")  with  reference  to  this  precious  stone,  as  found 
in  the  anterior  Orient.6  Hirth  (I.  c.)  refers  us  to  Herodotus  (II,  44), 
who  mentions  a  temple  of  Hercules  at  Tyre  in  Phoenicia  with  two  pil- 
lars,—  one  of  pure  gold,  the  other  of  smaragdos,  —  shining  with  great 
brilliancy  at  night.  Hirth  takes  this  smaragdos  for  "emerald  stone;" 
it  is  certain,  however,  that  the  word  in  this  passage  does  not  mean 
"emerald,"  but  denotes  a  greenish  building-stone  of  a  color  similar  to 
the  emerald,8  perhaps,  as  Blumner7  is  inclined  to  think,  green  porphyry. 
This  passage,  accordingly,  affords  no  evidence  that  the  Chinese  "stone 

1  China  and  the  Roman  Orient,  pp.  242-244. 
1  Toung  Poo,  1907,  p.  181. 

*  With  reference  to  the  white  stone  asteria,  dealt  with  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
4  Similiter  Candida  est  quae  vocatur  astrion,  crystallo  propinqua,  in  India  nascens 

et  in  Patalenes  litoribus.  Huic  intus  a  centro  stella  lucet  fulgore  pleno  lunae. 
Quidam  causam  nominis  reddunt  quod  astris  opposita  fulgorem  rapiat  et  regerat 
(xxxvn,  48,  §  132). 

6  The  much-discussed  question  as  to  the  stone  to  be  understood  by  Pliny's 
astrion  does  not  concern  us  here.  The  opinion  that  it  is  identical  with  what  is  now 
called  asteria  ("star  stone")  is  the  most  probable  one  (compare  Blumner,  Tech- 
nologic, Vol.  Ill,  p.  234).  The  most  detailed  study  of  the  subject,  not  quoted  by 
Krause  or  Blumner,  is  that  by  J.  M.  GUthe,  tJber  den  Astrios-Edelstein  des  Cajus 
Plinius  Secundus  (Munchen,  1810).  Judging  from  the  recent  report  of  D.  B.  Ster- 
rett  (Gems  and  Precious  Stones  in  1913,  p.  704,  Washington,  1914),  this  stone  seems 
to  become  fashionable  again  in  jewelry.  Possibly  also  Pliny's  selenitis  (67,  §  181), 
which  has  within  it  a  figure  of  the  moon  and  day  by  day  reflects  her  various  phases, 
may  be  sought  in  the  Chinese  "moonlight  gem,"  as  already  supposed  by  D'Herbelot 
(Bibliotheque  orientale,  Vol.  IV,  p.  398). 

•  Krause,  Pyrgoteles,  p.  37. 

7  Technologie,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  240. 


58  The  Diamond 

luminous  at  night"  might  be  the  emerald;  nor  can  it  be  invoked  as  a 
contribution  to  the  problem,  as  the  Chinese  do  not  speak  of  pillars,  but 
of  a  precious  stone.  Hirth,  further,  quotes  an  account  from  Pliny 
contained  in  his  notes  on  the  smaragdus.  It  is  difficult  to  see  what 
relation  it  is  supposed  to  have  with  the  subject  under  discussion,  as 
Pliny  does  not  say  a  word  about  these  stones  shining  at  night.  The 
story  runs  thus:  "They  say  that  on  this  island  above  the  tomb  of  a 
petty  king,  Hermias,  near  the  fisheries,  there  was  the  marble  statue  of 
a  lion,  with  eyes  of  smaragdi  set  in,  flashing  their  light  into  the  sea 
with  such  force  that  the  tunnies  were  frightened  away  and  fled,  till 
the  fishermen,  long  marvelling  at  this  unusual  phenomenon,  replaced  the 
stones  by  others."1  The  plot  of  Pliny's  story  is  certainly  laid  in  the 
daytime,  not  during  the  night;  fishes,  as  is  well  known,  being  attracted 
at  night  by  luminous  phenomena  spreading  over  the  surface  of  the 
water,  and  even  being  caught  by  the  glare  of  torch-light.  At  any  rate, 
the  passage  contains  nothing  about  jewels  brightening  the  night. 
Chavannes,  more  fortunately,  points  to  Lucian  (De  dea  Syria),  who 
describes  a  statue  of  the  Syrian  goddess  in  Hierapolis  bearing  a  gem  on 
her  head  called  lychnis:  "From  this  stone  flashes  a  great  light  in  the 
night-time,  so  that  the  whole  temple  gleams  brightly  as  by  the  light  of 
myriads  of  candles,  but  in  the  daytime  the  brightness  grows  faint;  the 
gem  has  the  likeness  of  a  bright  fire."2  The  name  lychnis  is  connected 
with  Greek  lychnos  ("  a  portable  lamp  ") .  According  to  Pliny,  the  stone 
is  so  called  from  its  lustre  being  heightened  by  the  light  of  a  lamp,  when 
its  tints  are  particularly  pleasing.3  Pliny  does  not  say  that  the  lychnis 
shines  at  night,4  but  his  definition  indicates  well  how  this  tradition 
arose.  Pseudo-Callisthenes  (n,  42)  makes  Alexander  the  Great  spear 
a  fish,  in  whose  bowels  was  found  a  white  stone  so  brilliant  that  every 
one  believed  it  was  a  lamp.  Alexander  set  it  in  gold,  and  used  it  as  a 
lamp  at  night.5    The  origin  of  this  trivial  story  is  perspicuous  enough. 

1  Ferunt  in  ea  insula  tumulo  reguli  Hermiae  iuxta  cetarias  marmoreo  leoni  fuisse 
inditos  oculos  e  smaragdis  ita  radiantibus  etiam  in  gurgitem,  ut  territi  thynni 
refugerent,  diu  mirantibus  novitatem  piscatoribus,  donee  mutavere  oculis  gemmas 
(xxxvn,  17,  §  66).     Compare  Krause,  Pyrgoteles,  p.  38. 

1  H.  A.  Strong,  The  Syrian  Goddess,  p.  72  (London,  1913). 

1  Ex  eodem  genere  ardentium  est  lychnis  appellata  a  lucernarum  adsensu,  turn 
praecipuae  gratiae  (xxxvn,  29,  §  103).  Dionysius  Periegetes  compares  the  lychnis 
with  the  flame  of  fire  (Krause,  /.  c,  p.  22).  Of  the  various  identifications  proposed 
for  this  stone,  that  of  tourmaline  has  the  greatest  likelihood,  as  Pliny  refers  to  its 
magnetic  property,  inasmuch  as,  when  heated  or  rubbed  between  the  fingers,  it  will 
attract  chaff  and  papyrus-fibres. 

4  He  does  not  say  so,  in  fact,  with  regard  to  any  stone. 

1  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  in  the  oldest  accessible  form  of  the  Romance 
of  Alexander,  as  critically  restored  by  A.  Ausfeld  (Der  griechische  Alexanderroman, 


Stones  of  Nocturnal  Luminosity  59 

It  is  welded  from  two  elements, —  a  reflex  of  the  ring  of  Polycrates1 
rediscovered  in  the  stomach  of  a  fish,  and  the  tradition  underlying  the 
Plinian  explanation  of  the  lychnis.  It  is  accordingly  the  lychnis  which, 
through  exaggeration  of  a  tradition  inspired  by  the  name,  gave  rise  to 
a  fable  of  stones  luminous  at  night.1 

A  story  of  Aelian  5  merits  particular  attention :  Herakleis,  a  virtuous 
widow  of  Tarent,  nursed  a  young  stork  that  had  broken  its  leg.  The 
grateful  bird,  a  year  after  its  release,  dropped  a  stone  into  the  woman's 
lap.  Awakening  at  night,  she  noticed  that  the  stone  spread  light  and 
lustre,  illuminating  the  room  as  though  a  torch  had  been  brought  in. 
The  author  adds  that  it  was  a  very  precious  stone,  without  further 
determination.4  This  story  meets  with  a  parallel  in  a  curious  anecdote 
of  China,  told  in  the  Shi  i  ki,  that,  when  Prince  Chao  of  Yen  was  once 
seated  on  a  terrace,  black  birds  with  white  heads  flocked  there  together, 
holding  in  their  beaks  perfectly  resplendent  pearls  (tung  kuang  chu 
(>^)^l.*$0>  measuring  one  foot  all  round.  These  pearls  were  black  as 
lacquer,  and  emitted  light  in  the  interior  of  a  house  to  such  a  degree 
that  even  the  spirits  could  not  obscure  their  supernatural  essence.' 
Still  more  striking  in  its  resemblance  to  Aelian's  story  is  one  in  the 
Sou  shin  ki:6  "The  marquis  of  Sui  once  encountered  a  wounded  snake, 
and  had  it  cured  by  means  of  drugs.  After  the  lapse  of  a  year  [as  in 
Aelian]  the  snake  appeared  with  a  luminous  gem  in  its  mouth  to  repay 
his  kindness.  This  gem  was  an  inch  in  diameter,  perfectly  white,  and 
emitted  at  night  a  light  of  the  brightness  of  the  moon,  so  that  the  room 
was  lighted  as  by  a  torch."     The  gem  was  styled  "gem  of  the  marquis  of 

p.  84),  this  incident  is  not  contained;  it  is  contained  in  the  uncritical  edition  of 
C.  Muller  of  1846.  If  Ausfeld  (p.  242)  is  right  in  placing  the  primeval  text  of 
Pseudo-Callisthenes  in  the  second  century  B.C.,  the  episode  in  question,  which 
indubitably  is  a  later  interpolation,  is  not  older  than  the  second  or  third  cen- 
tury A.D. 

1  Herodotus,  hi,  41-42. — The  stone  in  this  signet-ring,  according  to  Herodotus, 
was  a  smaragdos;  according  to  Pliny  (xxxvii,  1),  a  sardonyx  (compare  Krause, 
Pyrgoteles,  p.  135). 

1  As  a  fabulous  stone  found  in  the  river  Hydaspes,  the  lychnis  is  mentioned  in  the 
unauthentic  treatise  De  fluviis,  wrongly  ascribed  to  Plutarch  (F.  de  Mely,  Lapidaires 
grecs,  p.  29). 

*  Hist,  animalium,  vm,  22. 

4  A.  Marx,  in  his  interesting  study  Griechische  Marchen  von  dankbaren  Tieren 
(p.  52,  Stuttgart,  1889),  justly  comments  that  the  stone  mentioned  in  this  tale  is  the 
lychnites  or  lychnis,  because,  according  to  Philostratus  (Apollonius  from  Tyana, 
11,  14),  this  was  the  stone  placed  by  the  storks  in  their  nests  in  order  to  guard  them 
from  snakes,  and  because  the  lychnis  spreads  such  marvellous  light  in  the  dark  and 
possesses  many  magical  virtues  (Orphica,  271). 

*  P'ei  win  yiinfu,  Ch.  7A,  p.  107. 

*  "Tit  shu  tsi  ch'ing,  chapter  on  pearls,  ki  shi,  I,  p.  1  b. 


60  The  Diamond 

Sui,"  "gem  of  the  spiritual  snake,"  or  "moonlight  pearl."1  The  same 
Chinese  work  offers  another  parallel  that  is  still  closer  to  Aelian,  inas- 
much as  the  bird  in  question  is  a  crane,  which  would  naturally  take  the 
place  of  the  stork  not  occurring  in  China.  "K'uai  Ts'an  nursed  his 
mother  in  a  most  filial  manner.  There  nested  on  his  house  a  crane, 
which  was  shot  by  men  practising  archery,  and  in  a  wretched  condition 
returned  to  Ts'an's  place.  Ts'an  nursed  the  bird  and  healed  its  wound, 
and,  the  cure  being  effected,  released  it.  Subsequently  it  happened 
one  night  that  cranes  arrived  before  the  door  of  his  house.  Ts'an 
seized  a  torch,  and,  on  examination,  noted  that  a  couple  of  cranes,  male 
and  female,  had  come,  carrying  in  their  beaks  moon-bright  pearls 
(ming  yiie  chu)  to  recompense  his  good  deed."2  The  coincidences  in 
these  three  Chinese  versions  and  the  story  of  the  Greek  author,  even  in 
unimportant  details,  are  so  striking,  that  an  historical  connection  be- 
tween the  two  is  obvious.  The  dependence  of  the  Chinese  upon  the 
Greek  story  is  evidenced  by  the  feature  of  the  moon-bright  pearls, 
whose  actual  existence  is  ascribed  by  the  Chinese  to  the  Hellenistic 
Orient.8 

Hirth  has  conjectured  that  the  Chinese  name  "jewel  that  shines 
at  night"  possibly  is  an  allusion  to  the  ancient  name  carbunculus,  cor- 
responding to  Greek  anthrax  (the  ruby).  Pliny,  however,  in  the  chapter 
devoted  to  this  stone,  has  no  report  about  its  shining  at  night.  He 
insists,  quite  naturally,  on  its  "fire,"  from  which  it  has  received  its 
name,  carbunculus  meaning  "a  red-hot  coal."4  The  only  blade  of 
straw  to  which  the  above  hypothesis  might  cling  may  be  found  in  the 
words  quoted  by  Pliny  from  Archelaus,  who  affirmed  that  these  stones 
indoors  appear  purple  in  color;  in  the  open  air,  however,  flaming.6 
What  I  translate  by  "indoors"  means  literally,  "when  the  roof  over- 
shadows one."  This  phrase  evidently  implies  no  allusion  to  a  dark 
room,  but  is  used  in  the  sense  of  "in  the  shadow  of  a  house,"  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  following  open-air  inspection  of  the  stones.  The  only 
ancient  text  known  to  me,  that  mentions  a  ruby  shining  at  night  (and 
styled  "color  of  marine  purple"),  is  a  small  Greek  alchemical  work 

1  Compare  A.  Forke,  Lun-h6ng,  pt.  I,  p.  378;  and  Petillon  (Allusions  litteraires, 
p.  243),  who  quotes  this  story  from  Huai-nan-tse. 

8  L.  c,  ki  shi,  1,  p.  6  b. 

s  In  a  wider  sense  this  typical  story  belongs  to  the  cycle  of  the  grateful  animals, 
a  favorite  subject  of  the  Greeks  in  the  Alexandrian  epoch  (compare  A.  Marx, 
Griechische  Marchen  von  dankbaren  Tieren;  and  F.  Susemihl,  Geschichte  der 
griechischen  Litteratur  in  der  Alexandrinerzeit,  Vol.  I,  p.  856). 

4  Compare  Theophrastus,  De  lapidibus,  18  (opera  ed.  Wimmer,  p.  343). 

6  Eosdem  obumbrante  tecto  purpureos  videri,  sub  caelo  flammeos  (xxxvn,  25, 
§95)- 


Stones  of  Nocturnal  Luminosity  6i 

translated  by  M.  Berthelot,1  which  cannot  lay  claim  to  great  an- 
tiquity.    For  the  purpose  of  identification,  tourmaline  (lychnis),  and 


1  Introduction  a  l'etude  de  la  chimie,  p.  272  (Paris,  1889).  Not  only  Hirth, 
but  also  Mayers  (Chinese  Reader's  Manual,  p.  25),  T.  de  Lacouperie  (Babylonian 
and  Oriental  Record,  Vol.  VI,  1893,  p.  274),  and  Chavannes  (T'oung  Pao,  1907, 
p.  181),  without  giving  reference  to  any  passage,  are  unanimous  in  the  belief  that  the 
carbuncle  is  the  chief  night-shining  jewel  of  the  ancients.  It  would  be  interesting  to 
learn  what  alleged  passage  in  an  ancient  author  these  scholars  had  in  mind.  As  far 
as  I  know,  the  carbuncle  appears  as  a  night-shining  stone  only  in  the  mineralogical 
writings  of  the  middle  ages,  for  the  first  time  presumably  in  the  fundamental  work 
De  lapidibus  pretiosis  of  Marbodus  (1035-1123),  the  famous  French  Bishop  of 
Rennes.  In  the  earliest  French  translation  of  his  book  (L.  Pannier,  Lapidaires 
francais  du  moyen  age,  p.  52)  the  passage  runs  thus: 

"Scherbuncles  gettede  sei  rais. 
Plus  ardant  piere  n'i  a  mais: 
De  sa  clarte  la  noit  resplent, 
Mais  le  jur  n'en  fera  neient." 

In  the  famous  letter,  purported  to  have  been  addressed  by  Prester  John  to  the 
Byzantine  Emperor  Manuel,  and  written  about  the  year  1165,  we  find  the  carbuncle 
mentioned  in  three  passages  (57,  90,  93;  F.  Zarncke,  Der  Priester  Johannes  I, 
pp.  91,  95,  96),  in  the  fanciful  and  extravagant  description  of  the  palace  of  the  Royal 
Presbyter  in  India:  "In  extremitatibus  vero  super  culmen  palacii  sunt  duo  poma 
aurea,  et  in  unoquoque  sunt  duo  carbunculi,  ut  aurum  splendeat  in  die  et  carbunculi 
luceant  in  nocte. —  Longitudo  unius  cuiusque  columpnae  est  LX  cubitorum,  gros- 
situdo  est,  quantum  duo  homines  suis  ulnis  circumcingere  possunt,  et  unaquaeque 
in  suo  cacumine  habet  unum  carbunculum  adeo  magnum,  ut  est  magna  amphora, 
quibus  illuminatur  palatium  ut  mundus  illuminatur  a  sole. —  Nulla  fenestra  nee 
aliquod  foramen  est  ibi,  ne  claritas  carbunculorum  et  aliorum  lapidum  claritate 
serenissimi  caeli  et  solis  aliquo  modo  possit  obnubilari."  Konrad  von  Megen- 
berg  (1309-78),  in  his  Book  of  Nature  (ed.  of  F.  Pfeiffer,  p.  437),  extols  the 
carbuncle  as  the  noblest  of  all  stones,  combining  all  their  virtues.  Its  color  is  fiery, 
and  it  is  even  more  brilliant  at  night  than  in  the  daytime;  during  the  day  it  is  dark, 
but  at  night  it  shines  so  brightly  that  night  almost  becomes  day.  This  belief  still 
prevailed  in  the  seventeenth  century,  as  may  be  gleaned  from  the  following  interest- 
ing passage  of  A.  Boetius  de  Boot  (Gemmarum  et  lapidum  historia,  p.  140,  ed.  of 
A.  Toll,  Lugduni  Batavorum,  1636):  "Magna  fama  est  carbunculi.  Is  vulgo 
putatur  in  tenebris  carbonis  instar  lucere;  fortassis  quia  pyropus,  seu  anthrax  appel- 
latus  a  veteribus  fuit.  Verum  hactenus  nemo  unquam  vere  asserere  ausus  fuit,  se 
gemmam  noctu  lucentem  vidisse.  Garcias  ab  Horto  proregis  Indiae  medicus  refert 
se  allocutum  fuisse,  qui  se  vidisse  affirmarent.  Sed  iis  fidem  non  habuit.  Ludovicus 
Vartomannus  regem  Pega?  tantae  magnitudinis,  et  splendoris  habere  scribit,  ut  qui 
regem  in  tenebris  conspicatus  fuerit,  eum  splendere  quasi  a  Sole  illustretur  existimet, 
sed  nee  ille  vidit.  Si  itaque  gemmam  noctu  lucentem  natura  producat,  ea  vere 
carbunculus  fuerit,  atque  hoc  modo  ab  aliis  gemmis  distinguetur,  omnesque  alias 
dignitate  superabit.  Multi  autumant  gemmas  in  tenebris  lucentes,  a  natura  gigni 
non  posse;  verum  falluntur.  Nam  ut  lignis  putridis,  nicedulis,  halecumque  squam- 
mis,  et  animalium  oculis,  natura  lucem  dare  potest;  non  video  cur  gemmis  idonea 
suppeditata  materia  (in  tanta  rerum  creatarum  abundantia)  tribuere  non  possit. 
An  itaque  habeatur,  aut  non,  incertum  adhuc  est.  Doctissimorum  tamen  virorum 
omnium  sententia  huiusmodi  gemmae  non  inveniuntur.  Hinc  fit  quod  rubentes, 
et  transparentes  gemmae  omnes;  ab  iis  carbuncufi,  anthraces,  pyropi,  et  carbones 
nuncupentur.  Quia  videlicet  carbonis  instar  lucent,  ac  ignis  instar  flammeos  hinc 
inde  radios  iaciunt." 


62  The  Diamond 

possibly  to  a  certain  extent  ruby,1  remain,  while  emerald  must  be 
discarded.2 

In  my  opinion,  the  diamond  should  be  added  to  the  series.  The 
Chinese,  at  least  in  modern  times,  use  the  epithet  ye  kuang  ("brilliant 
at  night")  as  a  synonyme  of  the  diamond.8  This  notion  apparently 
goes  back  to  an  ancient  tradition;  for  the  Nan  Yiie  chi  ("  Description 
of  Southern  China")4  relates  that  the  kingdom  of  Po-lo-ki   ^^JIlIL 

1  The  pilgrim  Huan  Tsang  (Ta  T'ang  si  yii  ki,  Ch.  n,  p.  6;  ed.  of  Shou  shan  ko 
ts'ung  shu)  narrates  that  beside  the  king's  palace  was  the  Buddha's-Tooth  Shrine, 
brightly  decorated  with  jewels.  From  its  roof  rose  a  signal-post,  on  the  top  of 
which  was  a  large  ruby  (padmardga),  which  shed  a  brilliant  light,  and  could  be  seen 
shining  like  a  bright  star  day  and  night  for  a  great  distance  (compare  Watters, 
On  Yuan  Chwang's  Travels,  Vol.  II,  p.  235;  Beal,  Buddhist  Records,  Vol.  II, 
p.  248;  the  translation  of  Julien,  Memoires  sur  les  contrees  occidentales,  Vol.  II, 
p.  32  —  "recouvert  d'un  enduit  brillant  comme  le  diamant"  —  is  incorrect,  and 
the  whole  rendering  of  the  passage  is  not  exact).  In  view  of  what  is  set  forth  below 
regarding  phosphorescence,  it  should  be  remarked  right  here  that  any  natural  phe- 
nomenon proceeding  from  the  stone  cannot  come  into  question  in  this  case.  Moon 
and  star  light  or  artificial  illumination  of  the  building  must  be  held  responsible  for 
the  ruby  being  visible  at  night.  Thus  the  causes  leading  to  the  conception  of  stones 
shining  in  darkness  evidently  are  different.  Also  in  the  case  of  Lucian's  lychnis 
in  the  temple  of  Hierapolis,  I  am  not  inclined  to  believe  in  a  natural  phenomenon,  but 
rather  in  a  miracle  produced  by  priestly  artifice,  which  supplied  the  source  of  light  from 
a  hidden  corner,  and  hypnotized  the  multitude  into  the  belief  that  it  emanated  from 
the  stone.  With  reference  to  the  above  passage  of  Huan  Tsang,  it  should  be  added 
that  Cosmas  Indicopleustes  (Christian  Topography,  translated  by  McCrindle,  p. 
365)  mentions  a  gem  in  the  possession  of  the  King  of  Ceylon  (Taprobane),  "as  large 
as  a  great  pine-cone,  fiery  red,  and  when  seen  flashing  from  a  distance,  especially  if  the 
sun's  rays  are  playing  around  it,  being  a  matchless  sight ;"but  he  does  not  tell  of  its 
shining  at  night.  Friar  Odoric  of  Pordenone  of  the  fourteenth  century  ascribes  a 
similar  gem  to  the  King  of  the  Nicobars  (Yule,  Cathay,  new  ed.,  Vol.  II,  p.  169) :  "He 
carrieth  also  in  his  hand  a  certain  precious  stone  called  a  ruby,  a  good  span  in  length 
and  breadth,  so  that  when  he  hath  this  stone  in  his  hand  it  shows  like  a  flame  of  fire. 
And  this,  it  is  said,  is  the  most  noble  and  valuable  gem  that  existeth  at  this  day  in 
the  world,  and  the  great  emperor  of  the  Tartars  of  Cathay  hath  never  been  able  to 
get  it  into  his  possession  either  by  force  or  by  money  or  by  any  device  whatever." 

*  Beckmann  (Beitrage  zur  Geschichte  der  Erfindungen,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  553)  tenta- 
tively included  among  the  luminous  stones  of  the  ancients  also  fluor-spar;  but,  as 
admitted  by  himself,  the  phosphorescent  property  of  this  mineral  was  not  recognized 
before  the  seventeenth  century.  Moreover,  whatever  may  have  been  said  to  the 
contrary  (Blumner,  Technologie,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  276;  and  Lenz,  /.  c,  p.  23),  it  is  ex- 
tremely doubtful  to  me  whether  the  ancients  were  acquainted  with  fluor-spar.  This 
supposition  is  not  well  founded  on  matter-of-fact  evidence,  but  merely  inferred  from 
certain  properties  of  the  mineral  which  became  known  in  our  own  time,  and  which 
were  subsequently  read  into  certain  accounts  of  the  ancients. —  Other  stones  to  which 
the  property  of  nocturnal  luminosity  is  ascribed  are  purely  fabulous,  as,  for  instance, 
the  "stone  attracting  other  stones,"  described  by  Philostratus  as  sparkling  at  night 
like  fire  (F.  de  Mely,  Lapidaires  grecs,  pp.  27-28). 

'  J.  Doolittle,  Vocabulary  and  Handbook  of  the  Chinese  Language,  Vol.  I,  p.  132. 

4  Written  by  Shfin  Huai-yuan  of  the  fifth  century  (Bretschneider,  Bot.  Sin., 
pt.  I,  No.  559).     The  text  is  cited  in  T'ai  p'ing  yii  Ian,  Ch.  813,  p.  10. 


Phosphorescence  of  Precious  Stones  63 

produces  diamonds,  the  lustre  of  which  illuminates  the  dark  night. 
According  to  Chao  Ju-kua,1  the  King  of  Ceylon  possessed  a  gem  five 
inches  in  diameter,  which  could  not  be  consumed  by  fire,  and  at  night 
emitted  a  brilliancy  like  a  torch.  As  incombustibility  was  credited  to 
the  diamond,  this  jewel  shining  at  night,  in  all  probability,  was  a 
diamond.2  Another  reason  why  the  diamond  should  be  included  in 
this  class  will  be  discussed  in  the  following  section. 

Phosphorescence  of  Precious  Stones. —  As  this  subject  of  stones 
"luminous  at  night"  has  heretofore  not  been  properly  comprehended 
by  sinologues  and  others,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  add  some  explanatory 
notes.8  As  a  matter  of  fact,  of  course,  stones  cannot  shine  at  night : 
the  lustre  of  any  gem  is  an  optical  property,  and  depends  upon  the 
effects  of  light,  solar  or  artificial,  which  is  reflected  back  to  the  human 
eye.4  The  classical  and  Chinese  reports  of  stones  emitting  rays  of  light 
in  darkness,  accordingly,  have  nothing  to  do  with  optical  phenomena, 
or,  in  particular,  with  so-called  "adamantine  lustre."  If  these  stories, 
partially,  should  refer  to  a  phenomenon  of  reality,  there  is  but  one  that 
can  come  into  question, —  that  of  phosphorescence.  This  is  a  property 
of  some  gems,  which,  after  rubbing,  heating,  exposure  to  light,  or  an 
electrical  discharge,  radiate  a  light  known  as  phosphorescence;  since  the 
glow,  although  often  of  different  colors,  resembles  that  of  phosphorus. 
This  property  is  particularly  exhibited  in  the  diamond,  which,  on  being 
rubbed  with  a  cloth  or  across  the  fibres  of  a  piece  of  wood,  gives  out  a 
light  plainly  visible  in  a  dark  room.  It  is,  however,  not  a  general 
property  of  all  diamonds,  but  only  efficient  in  certain  stones.5    Though 

1  Chufan  chi  (ed.  Rockhill),  Ch.  A,  p.  10;  translation  of  Hirth  and  Rockhill, 
P-  73- 

*  An  indirect  testimony  for  the  diamond  being  counted  among  the  night-shining 
stones  in  the  West  may  be  deduced  from  the  passage  in  the  Physiologus,  that  the 
diamond  is  not  found  in  the  daytime,  but  only  at  night,  which  may  imply,  that,  in 
order  to  be  found  at  night,  it  must  then  emit  light  (compare  F.  Lauchert,  Geschichte 
des  Physiologus,  p.  28;  E.  Peters,  Der  griechische  Physiologus,  p.  96;  F.  Hommel, 
Aethiopische  Ubersetzung  des  Physiologus,  p.  77;  K.  Ahrens,  Buch  der  Naturgegen- 
stande,  p.  82). —  D'Herbelot  (Bibliotheque  orientale,  Vol.  IV,  p.  398)  already 
knew  that  it  was  a  natural  property  of  the  diamond  to  shine  in  darkness. 

*  The  subject  in  general  has  been  dealt  with  by  G.  F.  Kunz  (Curious  Lore  of 
Precious  Stones,  pp.  161-175). 

4  The  Chinese  scholar  Sung  Lien  (13 10-81)  had  a  certain  idea  thereof.  In  a 
Dissertation  on  Sun,  Moon,  and  Stars  (Ji  ytie  wu  sing  lun)  he  speaks  of  a  "gem  like 
the  full  moon"  {ytie  man  ju  chu),  whose  substance,  in  principle,  has  no  lustre;  but 
it  borrows  its  lustre  from  the  sun,  that  half  of  it  turned  away  from  the  sun  being 
constantly  dark,  and  the  other  half  turned  toward  the  sun  being  constantly  bright 
(P'ei  win  yiinfu,  Ch.  7A,  p.  109). 

6  Compare  Farrington,  Gems  and  Gem  Minerals,  pp.  34,  70.  Among  all 
minerals,  phosphorescence  is  best  exhibited  by  fluorite,  nearly  all  specimens  of  which, 


64  The  Diamond 

occurring  also  in  other  precious  stones,  the  phosphorescent  light  is  most 
brilliant  and  intensified  in  the  diamond;  and  for  this  reason  it  would 
seem  plausible  that  the  diamond  should  have  held  the  foremost  rank 
among  the  stones  luminous  at  night. 

There  remains,  however,  a  grave  obstacle  in  the  way  of  this  explana- 
tion, which  must  not  be  overlooked;  and  this  is  that  the  ancient  authors 
who  have  written  on  precious  stones  are  entirely  reticent  on  the  subject 
of  their  phosphorescent  quality.  It  is  indeed  taught  that  this  phe- 
nomenon was  observed  for  the  first  time  only  by  the  physicist  Robert 
Boyle  in  1663.1  This,  of  course,  does  not  mean  that  it  was  entirely 
unknown  before  that  time,  and  that  it  could  not  have  revealed  itself  to 
a  layman  by  a  chance  accident. 

M.  Berthelot,2  however,  has  discovered  in  the  collection  of  Greek 
alchemists  a  small  treatise  propounding  the  processes  "of  coloring  the 
artificial  precious  stones,  emeralds,  carbuncles,  and  hyacinths,  after 
the  book  drawn  from  the  sanctuary  of  the  temple."  He  believes  that 
artificial  coloring  of  stones  is  said  in  this  text  to  impart  to  them  the 
property  of  phosphorescence,  and  that  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  ancients 
made  precious  stones  phosporescent  in  darkness  through  the  employ- 
ment of  superficial  tinctures  derived  from  substances  such  as  bile  of 
marine  animals,  the  analogous  properties  of  which  are  known  to  us.  I 
must  confess  that  this  conclusion,  though  emanating  from  so  high 
and  respectable  an  authority,  for  whom  I  have  a  profound  admiration, 
is  not  quite  convincing  to  me.  First,  it  seems  open  to  doubt  whether 
the  Greek  recipe  really  took  the  desired  effect,  as  long  as  this  is  not 
experimentally  established;  second,  if  it  did,  it  does  not  furnish  proof 
that  the  ancients  were  acquainted  with  the  phenomenon  of  the  phos- 
phorescence of  precious  stones,  as  we  understand  it,  which  is  a  physical 
property  inherent  in  the  stone,  while  in  the  Greek  text  the  phospho- 
rescence is  alleged  to  result  from  animal  products  brought  in  contact 
with  the  stone,  not  from  the  stone  itself.  The  text  published  by 
Berthelot,  while  it  may  tend  to  prove  that  certain  ancient  alchemists 
knew  something  about  the  phosphorescence  of  certain  animal  organs,  is 
not  at  all  apt  to  show  that  the  same  tendency  in  precious  stones  was 
familiar  to  them;  on  the  contrary,  it  would  be  much  more  likely  to  have 

when  gently  heated,  will  emit  a  visible  light.  Its  color  varies  with  different  varieties, 
and  is  usually  not  the  same  as  the  natural  color  of  the  mineral.  The  tints  exhibited 
are  usually  greenish,  bluish,  or  purplish. 

1  Bauer,  Precious  Stones,  p.  138. 

2  Sur  un  proc6d6  antique  pour  rendre  les  pierres  precieuses  et  les  vitrifications 
phosphorescentes  {Annates  de  chimie  et  physique,  6th  series,  Vol.  XIV,  1888, 
pp.  429-432);  reprinted  in  his  Introduction  a  l'6tude  de  la  chimie,  pp.  271-274 
(Paris,  1889). 


Phosphorescence  of  Precious  Stones  65 

been  unknown  to  them,  if  that  artificial  process  were  ever  really  applied 
to  stones. 

Also  from  India  we  receive  an  intimation  as  to  alleged  acquaintance 
with  the  fact  of  phosphorescence  before  Boyle.  The  learned  Hindu 
Praphulla  Chandra  Ray,1  professor  of  chemistry  at  the  Presidency 
College,  Calcutta,  has  this  to  say:  "It  is  sometimes  asserted  that  the 
phosphorescence  of  diamond  was  first  observed  in  1663  by  the  cele- 
brated Robert  Boyle.  Bhoja  (eleventh  century  a.d.),  however,  men- 
tions this  property."  Fortunately  for  us,  the  Sanskrit  text  of  this 
passage  is  added,  which  reads,  "andhakare  ca  dlpyate"  (translated 
by  Ray,  "it  phosphoresces  in  the  dark");  but  these  words  simply 
mean,  "it  shines  in  the  dark."  It  is  accordingly  not  the  case  of  Bhoja 
being  familiar  with  the  phosphorescent  property  of  the  diamond,  but 
the  subjective  case  of  Professor  Ray,  who  knows  of  Boyle's  discovery, 
and  projects  this  knowledge  into  his  author.  It  reflects  more  credit 
on  the  well-meant  patriotism  of  the  Hindu  than  on  his  power  of  logic. 
His  interpretation  being  conceded,  we  could  as  well  infer  from  the 
numerous  passages  of  classical  and  Chinese  authors,  where  precious 
stones  luminous  in  the  dark  are  spoken  of,  that  also  Greeks,  Romans, 
and  Chinese  possessed  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  phenomenon 
in  question.2  But  serious  science  cannot  afford  to  speed  its  conclusions 
up  to  this  rapid  tempo;  and  if  the  fact  remains  that  no  Greek,  Roman, 
Sanskrit,  or  Chinese  text  has  as  yet  come  to  the  fore,  from  which  such 
an  inference  as  to  conscious  knowledge  of  the  phosphorescence  of 
precious  stones  can  reasonably  and  without  violence  be  deducted,  it  is 
safer  to  hold  judgment  in  abeyance  or  to  regard  the  result  as  negative.8 

1  A  History  of  Hindu  Chemistry,  Vol.  II,  p.  40  (2d  ed.,  Calcutta,  1909). 

*  It  is  noteworthy  that  neither  the  Arabic  nor  the  Indian  mineralogists  have 
accounts  of  precious  stones  luminous  at  night.  What  the  Arabs  offer  of  this  sort  is 
an  entirely  different  affair.  The  lapidarium  of  Pseudo-Aristotle  mentions  a  fabulous 
stone  under  the  name  "strange  stone,"  which  is  found  in  the  dark  ocean,  has  rays 
in  its  interior,  and  is  visible  at  night,  its  veins  being  brilliant  as  though  they  were 
laughing  faces  (a  corrupted  reading  which  originally  was  "brilliant  like  a  mirror;" 
J.  Ruska,  Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  pp.  20,  167).  The  "stone  bringing  sleep"  is 
red,  and  large  pieces  of  it  radiate  at  night  a  glow  of  fire,  and  in  the  daytime  smoke 
emanates  from  it  {ibid.,  p.  166). 

1  In  the  passage  of  the  Orphica,  "the  diamond-like  crystal,  when  placed  on  an 
altar,  sent  forth  a  flame  without  the  aid  of  fire,"  Kunz  (Curious  Lore  of  Precious 
Stones,  p.  163)  believes  he  sees  an  indication  that  the  phosphorescence  of  the  dia- 
mond had  already  been  noted  before  the  second  or  third  century  of  our  era;  but  the 
plain  text  does  not  bear  out  this  far-fetched,  interpretation.  The  Greek  author  has 
in  mind  the  well-known  burning-lenses  of  crystal,  described  also  by  Pliny  (see  the 
writer's  article  on' this  subject  in  T'oung  Poo,  19 15,  pp.  169-228),  and  compares  their 
reflective  power  with  that  of  the  diamond;  he  says  nothing  further  than  that  the 
lustre  of  the  diamond  vies  with  that  of  a  crystal  lens.  There  is  no  allusion  to  the 
fact  that  this  happens  in  darkness,  and  consequently  no  reference  to  phosphorescence. 


66  The  Diamond 

While  direct  evidence  is  lacking,  an  interesting  observation  may  be 
based  on  Pliny,  which,  it  seems  to  me,  is  conclusive  to  some  degree;  and 
this  is  the  curious  circumstance  that  Pliny  is  familiar  with  the  magnetic 
or  electrical  property  of  just  those  gems  which  have  the  best  claim  to 
being  identified  with  the  stones  luminous  at  night  of  the  Chinese, — 
tourmaline  and  diamond.  In  regard  to  the  former  (lychnis)  he  states 
that  these  stones,  when  heated  by  the  sun  or  rubbed  by  the  fingers, 
will  attract  chaff  and  scraps  of  papyrus.1  As  to  the  diamond,  he 
remarks  that  its  hostility  toward  the  magnet  goes  so  far,  that,  when 
placed  near  it,  it  will  not  allow  of  its  attracting  iron;  or  if  the  magnet 
has  already  seized  the  iron,  it  will  itself  attract  the  metal  and  turn  it 
away  from  the  magnet.2  The  fact  is  correct  that  diamond  becomes 
strongly  electric  on  friction,  so  that  it  will  pick  up  pieces  of  paper  and 
other  light  substances,  though  it  is  not  a  conductor  of  electricity,  differ- 
ing in  this  respect  from  graphite.3  Whether  the  diamond,  as  asserted 
by  Pliny,  can  check  the  attractive  power  of  the  magnet,  seems  to  be  a 
controversial  point.  Garcia  ab  Horto  was  the  first  to  antagonize 
Pliny's  allegation,  on  the  ground  of  many  experiments  made  by  him.4 
C.  W.  King6  has  the  following  observation:  "This  stone  is  highly 
electric,  attracting  light  substances  when  heated  by  friction,  and,  as 
we  have  already  noticed,6  has  the  peculiarity  of  becoming  phospho- 

1  Has  sole  excalf  actas  aut  attritu  digitorum  paleas  et  chartarum  fila  ad  se  rapere 
(xxxvn,  29,  §  103). 

2  Adamas  dissidet  cum  magnete  in  tantum,  ut  iuxta  positus  ferrum  non  patiatur 
abstrahi  aut,  si  admotus  magnes  adprehenderit,  rapiat  atque  auferat  (xxxvn,  15, 
§61). 

*  "All  gems  when  rubbed  upon  cloth  become,  like  glass,  positively  electrified. 
Gems  differ,  however,  in  the  length  of  time  during  which  they  will  retain  an  electrical 
charge.  Thus  tourmaline  and  topaz  remain  electric  under  favorable  conditions  for 
several  hours;  but  diamond  loses  its  electricity  within  half  an  hour"  (Farrington, 
Gems  and  Gem  Minerals,  pp.  34,  70).  The  Arabs  attribute  to  the  garnet  (bijddi) 
the  power  of  attracting  wood  and  straw  (J.  Ruska,  Steinbuch  des  Aristoteles,  p.  144). 
I  do  not  believe  with  Ruska  that  this  statement  may  be  caused  by  confusing  the 
garnet  with  amber.  Though  Vullers  and  Steingass,  in  their  Persian  Dictionaries, 
assign  to  the  word  bijddi  or  bejdd  the  meanings  "garnet"  and  "amber,"  the  latter 
interpretation  is  evidently  suggested  by  the  reference  to  the  attractive  power. 

4  Ne  meno  e  il  vero  che  tolga  la  virtu  alia  calami ta  di  tirare  il  ferro;  percioche 
ne  ho  fatto  io  molte  volte  esperienza,  e  l'ho  trovata  favola  (Italian  edition  of  1582, 
p.  182). 

s  Antique  Gems,  p.  71. 

6  In  the  passage  referred  to  (p.  27)  King  says  that  "the  property  of  phospho- 
rescence is  possessed  by  no  other  gem  except  the  diamond,  and  this  only  retains  it  for 
a  few  minutes  after  having  been  exposed  to  a  hot  sun  and  then  immediately  carried 
into  a  dark  room.  This  singular  quality  must  often  have  attracted  the  notice  of 
Orientals  on  entering  their  gloomy  chambers  after  exposure  to  their  blazing  sun,  and 
thus  have  afforded  sufficient  foundation  to  the  wonderful  tales  built  upon  the  simple 


Phosphorescence  of  Precious  Stones  67 

rescent  in  the  dark  after  long  exposure  to  the  sun.  The  ancients  also 
ascribed  magnetic  powers  to  the  diamond  in  even  a  greater  degree  than 
to  the  loadstone,  so  much  so  that  they  believed  the  latter  was  totally 
deprived  of  this  quality  in  the  presence  of  the  diamond;  but  this  notion 
is  quite  ungrounded.  Their  sole  idea  of  magnetism  was  the  property  of 
attraction;  therefore  seeing  that  the  diamond  possessed  this  for  light 
objects,  the  step  to  ascribing  to  it  a  superiority  in  this  as  in  all  other 
respects  over  the  loadstone  was  an  easy  one  for  their  lively  imagina- 
tions." Ajasson,  however,  holds  that  if  the  diamond  is  placed  in  the 
magnetic  line  or  current  of  the  loadstone,  it  attracts  iron  equally  with 
the  loadstone,  and  consequently  neutralizes  the  attractive  power  of 
the  loadstone  in  a  considerable  degree.1  Be  this  as  it  may,  Pliny,  at 
any  rate,  was  well  informed  on  the  electrical  quality  of  the  diamond; 
and  if  this  experiment  in  the  case  of  diamond  and  tourmaline  was 
brought  about  by  rubbing  the  stones,  it  is  not  impossible  that  in  this 
manner  also  a  phosphorescence  was  occasionally  produced  and  ob- 
served. A  few  such  observations  may  easily  have  given  rise  to  fabulous 
exaggerations  of  stones  illumining  the  night. 

Were  phosphorescent  phenomena  known  to  the  Chinese?  First 
of  all,  they  were  known  in  that  subconscious  and  elementary  form  in 
which  we  find  such  conceptions  in  the  domain  of  our  own  folk-lore. 
The  philosopher  Huai-nan-tse  of  the  second  century  B.C.  says  that  old 
huai  trees  (Sophora  japonica)  produce  fire,  and  that  blood  preserved  for 
a  long  time  produces  a  phenomenon  called  lin  ify  .2  This  word  is 
justly  assigned  the  meaning  "flitting  light"  and  "will-o'-the-wisp,  as 
seen  over  battle-fields."  It  is  defined  in  the  ancient  dictionary  Shuo 
win  as  proceeding  from  the  dead  bodies  of  soldiers  and  the  blood  of 
cattle  and  horses,  popularly  styled  "fires  of  the  departed  souls."1 
The  philosopher  Wang  Ch'ung  of  the  first  century  a.d.  criticised  this 
belief  of  his  contemporaries  as  follows:  "When  a  man  has  died  on  a 
battle-field,  they  say  that  his  blood  becomes  a  will-o'-the-wisp.  The 
blood  is  the  vital  force  of  the  living.  The  will-o'-the-wisp  seen  by 
people  while  walking  at  night  has  no  human  form;  it  is  desultory  and 

fact  by  their  luxuriant  imaginations."  I  am  somewhat  inclined  toward  the  same 
opinion;  but  we  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  phenomenon  itself,  as  far  as 
precious  stones  are  concerned,  is  not  described  in  any  ancient  record,  while  we  may 
trust  to  the  future  that  such  will  turn  up  some  day  in  a  Greek  papyrus.  As  the 
matter  stands  at  present,  we  have  at  the  best  a  theory  founded  on  circumstantial 
evidence  deduced  from  the  ancients'  knowledge  of  the  magnetic  property  of  precious 
stones. 

1  Bostock  and  Riley,  Natural  History  of  Pliny,  Vol.  VI,  p.  408. 

1  Quoted  under  this  word  in  K'ang-hi's  Dictionary. 

1  The  text  is  cited  in  Couvreur's  Dictionnaire  chinois-francais,  p.  496. 


68  The  Diamond 

concentrated  like  a  light.  Though  being  the  blood  of  a  dead  man,  it 
does  not  resemble  a  human  shape  in  form.  How,  then,  could  a  man 
whose  vital  force  is  gone,  still  appear  with  a  human  body?" 1  At  the 
present  day,  when  the  Chinese  in  a  very  creditable  manner  coined  a 
nomenclature  to  render  our  scientific  terminology,  they  chose  this 
word  lin  (ignis  fatuus)  to  express  our  term  "phosphorescence."2  This 
shows  that  they  have  a  feeling  that  this  phenomenon  underlies  the 
popular  notions  conveyed  by  their  word.3 

The  Po  wu  chi  by  Chang  Hua  (232-300) 4  has  the  following  interest- 
ing text,  which  shows  also  that  the  Chinese  had  a  certain  experience  of 
electric  phenomena :  "  On  battle-fields  the  blood  of  fallen  men  and  horses 
accumulates  and  is  transformed  into  will-o'-the-wisps.  These  adhere 
to  the  soil  and  to  plants  like  dewdrops,  and  generally  are  not  visible. 
Wanderers  sometimes  strike  against  them,  and  they  cling  to  their  bodies, 
emitting  light.  On  being  wiped  off,  they  are  scattered  around  into 
numberless  particles,  which  yield  a  crepitating  sound,  as  though  beans 
were  being  roasted.  They  thrive  only  in  quiet  places  for  any  length  of 
time,  and  may  soon  be  extinguished.  The  people  affected  by  them  be- 
come perturbed,  as  though  they  were  mentally  unbalanced,  and  remain 
for  some  days  in  an  erratic  state  of  mind.  At  present  when  people 
comb  their  hair,  or  are  engaged  in  dressing  or  undressing,  sparks  may 
be  noticed  along  the  line  of  the  comb  or  the  folds  of  the  dress,  also 
accompanied  by  a  crepitating  sound."5 

We  noticed  above  that  the  phosphorescing  of  certain  organs  of 
marine  animals  was  known  to  Greek  alchemists.  The  counterpart  of 
this  observation  is  found  in  Chinese  accounts  of  the  eyes  of  whales, 
especially  those  of  female  whales,  making  "moonlight  pearls"  {ming 

1  A.  Forke,  Lun-h6ng,  pt.  1,  p.  193. 

2  It  appears  from  the  Ku  kin  chu  of  Ts'uei  Pao  of  the  fourth  century  (Ch.  B, 
p.  6b;  ed.  of  Han  Wei  ts'ung  shu)  that  the  phosphorescence  of  the  glow-worm  or 
firefly  was  styled  also  lin  and  likewise  ye  kuang  ("wild  fire,"  or  "fire  of  the  wilder- 
ness"). 

3  Giles  (No.  6717)  assigns  this  significance  also  to  the  word  Ian  in  the  compound 
yil  Ian  ("phosphorescence  of  fishes"). 

4  Compare  Notes  on  Turquois,  p.  22.  The  passage  is  in  Ch.  9,  p.  2,  of  the 
Wu-ch'ang  edition. 

6  Also  in  Japan  it  was  believed  that  will-o'-the-wisps  represent  the  souls  of  people 
(hence  called  hito-dama,  "man's  soul"),  which  are  floating  away  over  the  eaves  and 
roof  as  a  transparent  globe  of  impalpable  essence  (Aston,  Shinto,  p.  50;  M.  Revon, 
Le  Shintoisme,  pp.  Ill,  302).  Interesting  information  on  this  subject  relative  to 
Japan  is  given  by  Geerts  (Les  produits  de  jla  nature  japonaise  et  chinoise, 
pp.  186-187).  Compare  also  some  notes  of  M.  W.  de  Visser  (The  Dragon  in  China 
and  Japan,  pp.  213-214);  and  the  same  author's  detailed  study  Fire  and  Ignes  Fatui 
in  China  and  Japan  (Mitteilungen  des  Seminars  fur  oriental.  Sprachen,  Vol.  XVII, 
pt.  I,  1914,  pp.  97-193)- 


Phosphorescence  of  Precious  Stones  69 

yiie  chu) ; l  this  was  recorded  by  Ts'uei  Pao  in  the  middle  of  the  fourth 
century.2  The  fact  that  this  was  not  mere  fancy,  but  that  such  whale- 
eye  pearls  were  a  product  of  actual  use,  is  illustrated  by  the  Moho,  a 
Tungusian  tribe  of  the  Sungari,  who  sent  these  in  the  year  7 19  as  tribute 
to  the  Chinese  Court.8  The  fabulous  work  Shu  i  ki  says  that  in  the 
southern  sea  there  is  a  pearl  which  is  the  pupil  from  the  eye  of  a  whale, 
and  in  which  one  may  behold  his  reflection  at  night,  whence  it  is  called 
"brilliancy  of  the  night"  (ye  kuang)*  Varahamihira  (a.d.  505-587),  in 
his  Brihat-Sarhhita  (Ch.  81,  §  23),  speaks  of  a  pearl  coming  from  dolphins, 
resembling  the  eye  of  a  fish,  highly  purifying,  and  of  great  worth.8 

Fish-eyes  seem  to  have  been  enlisted  for  this  purpose  in  old  Japan. 
The  Annals  of  the  Sui  Dynasty8  attribute  to  Japan  a  wishing-jewel 
(ju  i  pao  chu,  rendering  of  Sanskrit  cintamani)  of  dark  color,  as  big  as  a 
fowl's  egg,  and  radiating  at  night,  said  to  be  the  pupil  of  a  fish-eye.7 

Of  other  substances  of  animal  origin  credited  by  the  Chinese  with 
the  property  of  nocturnal  luminosity  may  be  mentioned  rhinoceros-horn, 
discussed  by  the  writer  on  a  former  occasion.8  While  at  that  time  I 
referred  the  earliest  conception  of  this  matter  to  Ko  Hung  of  the  fourth 
century  and  to  a  work  of  the  T'ang  period,  I  am  now  in  a  position  to 
trace  it  to  an  author  of  the  third  century  a.d.,  Wan  Ch6n,  who  wrote 
the  work  Nan  chou  i  wu  chi  ("Account  of  Remarkable  Objects  in  the 
Southern  Provinces").9  This  writer  assumes  the  existence  of  a  divine 
or  spiritual  rhinoceros,  whose  horn  emits  a  dazzling  splendor.  The 
interesting  point,  however,  is  that  it  is  just  an  ordinary  horn  when 
examined  in  the  daytime,  whereas  in  the  darkness  of  night  the  single 
veins  of  the  horn  are  effulgent  like  a  torch.10  In  regard  to  exhibiting 
luminous  properties  at  night,  instances  of  the  real  pearl,  which  is  likewise 

1  The  same  term  as  that  ascribed  to  the  Hellenistic  Orient  and  identified  above 
with  the  astrion  of  Pliny. 

*  The  complete  text  is  given  by  the  writer  in  Toting  Pao,  1913,  p.  341. 
1  Tang  shu,  Ch.  219,  p.  6. 

*  P'ei  win  yiin  ju,  Ch.  7A,  p.  107;  or  Ch.  22  a,  p.  76b.  This  attribute  again  is 
identical  with  that  conferred  on  the  precious  stone  of  the  Hellenistic  Orient. 

*  H.  Kern,  Verspreide  Geschriften,  p.  100  ('s-Gravenhage,  1914). 
8  Sui  shu,  Ch.  81,  p.  7. 

7  In  all  probability  this  jewel  was  a  Buddhist  relic  brought  over  to  Japan  from 
India.  Reference  has  been  made  above  (p.  22)  to  the  Buddhist  legend,  according 
to  which  the  cintamani  originates  from  the  fabulous  fish  tnakara.  The  Chinese 
author  Lu  Tien  (1042-1102),  in  his  P'i  ya,  expresses  the  view  that  the  cintamani  is 
the  pupil  of  the  eye  of  a  fish  (Wu  li  siao  shi,  Ch.  7,  p.  13). 

•Chinese  Clay  Figures,  pp.  138,  151. 

*  Bretschneider,  Bot.  Sin.,  pt.  1,  Nos.  452,  539;  and  Sui  shu,  Ch.  33,  p.  10. 

10  The  passage  is  quoted  in  the  cyclopaedia  T'ai  p'ing  yu  Ian  (published  by  Li  Fang 
in  983),  Ch.  890,  p.  3  (edition  of  Juan  Yuan,  1812). 


70  The  Diamond 

an  animal  product,  have  already  been  cited  (p.  56).  A  few  more  cases 
may  here  be  added.  In  a.d.  86  moonlight  pearls  as  big  as  fowl's  eggs, 
4.8  inches  in  circumference,  were  produced  in  Yu-chang  and  Hai-hun.1 
In  the  work  Kuang  chi,  by  Kuo  I-kung  of  the  sixth  century,2  are  dis- 
tinguished three  kinds  of  pearl-like  gems, —  the  gem  mu-nan  A*~$% 
of  yellow  color,8  the  bright  gem  (ming  chu  9$  J^ ),  and  the  large  gem 

resplendent  at  night  (ye  kuang  ta  chu  ^^Di^.),  all  an  inch  in  diame- 
ter, or  two  inches  in  circumference,  the  best  qualities  coming  from 
Huang-chi;4  these  are  perfectly  round,  and  when  placed  on  a  plane 
do  not  stop  rolling  for  a  whole  day.6 


1  Both  localities  are  situated  in  the  prefecture  of  Nan-ch'ang,  Kiang-si  Province. 
This  notice  is  given  in  the  Ku  kin  chu  of  Ts'uei  Pao  (fourth  century),  cited  in  T'ai 
P'ing  yii  Ian,  Ch.  803,  p.  6. 

2  Bretschneider,  Bot.  Sin.,  pt.  1,  No.  376;  and  Pelliot,  Bull,  de  VEcolefrancaise, 
Vol.  IV,  p.  172. 

3  In  another  passage  of  the  same  work  (cited  in  P'ei  win  ytinfu,  Ch.  7A,  p.  107; 
and  T'ai  p'ing  yii  Ian,  Ch.  809,  p.  4b)  it  is  said  that  this  gem  of  yellow  hue  originates 
in  the  eastern  countries.  In  this  case,  the  name  for  the  gem  is  mo-nan  J^^,  which 
appears  to  be  a  phonetic  variant  of  mu-nan.  The  same  form  is  found  in  the  Ku  kin 
chu  (Ch.  c,  p.  5  b;  ed.  of  Han  Wei  ts'ung  shu),  where  shut  Jc  nan  is  given  as  a  syno- 
nyme,  and  where  it  is  remarked  that  the  stone  is  yellow  and  occurs  in  the  coun- 
tries of  the  Eastern  Barbarians.  Aside  from  these  indications  placing  the  home  of 
the  stone  vaguely  in  the  East,  we  have  other  accounts  that  attribute  it  to  the 
Hellenistic  Orient.  The  Nan  Yiie  chi  (by  Sh6n  Huai-yuan  of  the  fifth  century; 
quoted  in  P'ei  win  yiin  fu,  Ch.  7A,  p.  102  b)  states  that  mu-nan  are  pearls  or  beads 
of  greenish  color,  produced  by  the  saliva  of  a  bird  with  golden  wings,  and  that  they 
are  prized  in  the  country  of  Ta  Ts'in.  The  Hiian  chung  ki  {T'ai  p'ing  yii  Ian,  I.  c.) 
likewise  informs  us  that  Ta  Ts'in  is  the  place  of  production.  The  Annals  of  the  T'ang 
Dynasty  ascribe  mu-nan  to  Fu-lin  (Hirth,  China  and  the  Roman  Orient,  p.  59); 
and  Ma  Tuan-lin  explains  them  as  evolved  from  the  coagulated  saliva  of  a  bird  (ibid., 
p.  80), —  doubtless  the  echo  of  a  Western  tradition.  The  Shi  i  ki  tells  of  an  auspi- 
cious bird  living  on  the  fabulous  isle  Ying-chou,  and  spitting  manifold  pearls  when 
singing  and  moving  its  wings.  An  exact  description  of  the  stone  mu-nan  is  not  on 
record.  The  Pin  ts'ao  kang  mu  lists  it  among  the  precious  stones  of  yellow  color. 
Yang  Sh£n  (1488-1559)  identifies  it  with  the  emerald  (written  by  him  tsie-ma-lu 
instead  of  tsie-mu-lu,  see  Notes  on  Turquois,  p.  55).  Fang  I-chi,  in  his  Wu  li  siao 
shi  (Ch.  7,  p.  14),  prrooses  to  regard  it  as  the  yellow  yakut  of  the  Arabs.  These 
speculations  are  recent  after-thoughts  of  doubtful  value. 

4  Regarding  the  location  of  this  country  see  Chinese  Clay  Figures,  p.  80. 

•  T'u  shu  tsi  ch'ing,  chapter  on  pearls,  hut  k'ao,  1,  p.  6  b.  The  latter  statement 
reminds  one  of  Pigafetta's  account  regarding  the  two  pearls  of  the  King  of  Brunei 
(west  coast  of  Borneo),  as  large  as  hen's  eggs,  and  so  perfectly  round  that  if  placed 
on  a  smooth  table  they  cannot  be  made  to  stand  still  (see  Hirth  and  Rockhill, 
Chau  Ju-kua,  p.  159). —  Li  Shi-ch6n  speaks  of  "thunder-beads"  dropping  from  the 
jaws  of  a  divine  dragon  and  lighting  an  entire  house  at  night  (see  Jade,  p.  64).  These 
are  certainly  not  on  a  par  with  the  other  "prehistoric"  implements  enumerated  by 
him  in  the  same  text,  as  believed  by  de  Visser  (The  Dragon,  p.  88),  but  this  matter 
has  crept  in  here  by  way  of  wrong  analogy.  These  alleged  thunder-beads  are  simply 
a  transformation  of  the  snake-pearls  of  Indian  folk-lore. 


1 


Phosphorescence  of  Precious  Stones  71 

Also  coral  has  been  credited  with  the  same  property.  The  work 
Si  king  tsa  ki  ("Miscellaneous  Records  of  the  Western  Capital,"  that  is, 
Si-ngan  fu)  relates:  "In  the  pond  Tsi-ts'ui  there  are  coral-trees  twelve 
feet  high.  Each  trunk  produces  three  stems,  which  send  forth  426 
branches.  These  had  been  presented  by  Chao  T'o,  King  of  Nan  Yue 
(Annam),  and  were  styled  'beacon-fire  trees.'  At  night  they  emitted 
a  brilliant  light  as  though  they  would  go  up  in  flames."1 

Whether  in  each  of  the  instances  cited  the  case  rests  on  real  observa- 
tion is  difficult  to  decide.  Some  accounts  may  be  purely  fabulous  or 
imaginary,  and  the  luminous  property  may  have  freely  been  transposed 
from  one  substance  to  another.  Taken  all  together,  however,  we  cannot 
deny  that  certain  phenomena  of  phosphorescence  might  to  a  certain 
degree  have  been  known  to  the  ancient  Chinese  in  some  way  or  other, 
although  the  phenomenon  itself  was  not  intelligently  understood.  A 
recent  author,  Sung  Ying-sing,  who  wrote  in  1628  (2d  ed.,  1637)  the 
T'ien  kung  k'ai  wu,  a  treatise  on  technology,  gives  an  interesting  account 
of  the  pearl-fishery,  and  discredits  the  belief  in  night-shining  pearls. 
He  remarks,  "The  pearls  styled  'moonlight  and  night-shining '  in  times 
of  old  are  those  which,  when  viewed  under  the  eaves  in  broad  daylight 
on  a  sunny  day,  exhibit  a  fine  thread  of  flashing  light;  it  is  uncertain, 
however,  that  the  night-shining  pearls  are  finest,  for  it  is  not  true  that 
there  are  pearls  emitting  light  at  the  hour  of  the  dusk  or  night."  There 
is,  however,  no  account  on  record  to  show  that  the  Chinese  ever  under- 
stood how  to  render  precious  stones  phosphorescent;  and  since  this 
experiment  is  difficult,  there  is  hardly  reason  to  believe  that  they  should 
ever  have  attempted  it.  Altogether  we  have  to  regard  the  traditions 
about  gems  luminous  at  night,  not  as  the  result  of  scientific  effort,  but 
as  folk-lore  connecting  the  Orient  with  the  Occident,  Chinese  society 
with  the  Hellenistic  world. 

1  Tai  p'ing  yu  Ian,  Ch.  807,  p.  5;  or  Vu  shu  tsi  ch'ing,  chapter  on  coral,  ki  ski, 
p.  1  (see  also  Pien  i  tien  94,  Annam,  hui  k'ao  vi,  p.  8  b,  where  this  event  is  referred  to 
the  beginning  of  the  Han  dynasty). 


r 


INDEX 


Adamantine  gold,  38. 

Aelian,  59. 

Agtites,  9. 

Agastimata,  42,  48. 

Agathyrsi,  diamond  in  country  of,  53. 

Ajasson,  45,  67. 

Akfanl,  27,  34,  41. 

Albertus  Magnus,  24. 

Alexander,  Romance  of,  10,  11,  14,  45, 
58. 

Almas,  Arabic  designation  of  the  dia- 
mond, 32,  34,  42,  46. 

Ammianus,  53. 

Apollonius,  on  diamond,  24. 

Armenian  version  of  legend  of  Diamond 
Valley,  14. 

Arthacastra,  on  diamond,  16,  48. 

Asbestos,  28,  33,  39,  40. 

Astrion,  57. 

Augustinus,  16,  24. 

Ausfeld,  A.,  10,  11,  45,  58. 

Ball,  V.,  15,  48. 

Bauer,  M.,  37,  47,  48,  49,  54,  64. 

Beckmann,  J.,  28,  47,  62. 

Benjamin  of  Tudela,  II. 

Berquen,  L.   van,   alleged   inventor   of 

diamond-polishing,  49. 
Berthelot,  M.,  26,  61,  64. 
al-Berunl,  41. 
Biot,  E.,  21. 
Biscia,  A.  R.,  13,  27. 
Blumner,  H.,  24,  36,  44,  47,  53,  57,  62. 
Boll,  P.,  24. 
Boot  de,  41,  61. 
Borneo,  diamonds  of,  54. 
Boutan,  M.  E.,  monograph  on  diamond, 

54- 
Boyle,  R.,  64,  65. 
Buddha,  associated  with  the  diamond, 

17, 25 ;  diamond  passed  as  his  tooth,  30. 

California,  diamonds  of,  37. 

Callaina,  15. 

Cambodja,  see  Fu-nan. 

Carbuncle,  in  the  legend  of  Diamond 
Valley,  14,  note  2;  44,  60;  luminous  at 
night,  61 ;  64. 

Chaff  ant,  F.  H.,  on  diamonds  of  Shan- 
tung, 5. 

Champa,  diamond-rings  from,  54. 

Chang  Hua,  68. 

Ch'ang  T6,  13. 

Chao  Ju-kua,  on  diamonds  of  India,  22, 
54;  63. 


Chavannes,  E.,  8,  18,  22,  25,  30,  31,  33, 
39,  40,  56,  57,  58,  61. 

Chou  K'u-fei,  21. 

Chou  Mi,  12,  42,  51. 

Cintamani,  22,  69. 

Conti,  N.,  14. 

Coral,  luminous  at  night,  71. 

Cosmas,  62. 

Crooke,  W„  16,  41. 

Curtius,  23,  44. 

Cut  diamonds,  unknown  in  classical 
antiquity,  India,  and  China,  46-50; 
imported  into  China  from  India  and 
Europe,  6  note;  introduced  into 
India  and  China  by  Portuguese,  48, 
50. 

Dana,  E.  S.,  43. 
Dante,  18. 

Diamond-point,  27,  28-35. 
Diamond-sand,  from  Tibet,  15;  regarded 

as  poisonous  in  India,  41. 
Diamond-Seat,  of  Buddha,  17,  18. 
Diamond  throne,  in  Dante,  18. 
Diamonds,  of  Shan-tung,  5;  of  India,  16, 

44;  in  Iran,  53;  of  Java,  54;  of  Borneo, 

54- 
Dionysius  Periegetes,  44,  53,  58. 
Dioscorides,  23,  26,  32,  44. 
Duval,  R.,  26. 

Eagle-stone,  9. 

Edrlsl,  13. 

Electric  phenomena,  known  to  Chinese, 

68. 
Elysaeus,  legend  of  Diamond  Valley  by, 

14  note  2. 
Emerald,  57,  62,  64,  70. 
Emery,  12,  44,  50;  of  China,  mentioned 

by  Arabs,  51. 
Epiphanius,  9,  10,  15,  17,  18,  20,  21. 
Ethiopia,  diamonds  in,  45. 

Faber,  E.,  28,  29,  33. 

Fang  I-chi,  12,  70. 

Farnngton,  O.  C.,  23,  37,  63. 

Fauvel,  on  Chinese  diamonds,  5. 

Ferrand,  G.,  51. 

Finot,  L.,  16,  17,  22,  41,  42,  43,  44,  48, 

49- 

Fire,  does  not  affect  diamond,  23,  38. 
Fish-eyes,  employed  as  pearls,  69. 
Fluor-spar,  known  to  Chinese,  21,  36; 

not  known  to  the  ancients,  62. 
Forke,  A.,  29,  33,  60,  68. 


73 


74 


Index 


Foucher,  A.,  7,  17. 

Franke,  0.,  7,  25. 

Fu-lin,  7,  8,  19,  70. 

Fu-nan,  crystal  mirror  from,  19;  dia- 
monds of,  21;  diamonds  from  India 
imported  into,  22,  45. 

Fu  Yi,  30. 

Garbe,  R.,  23,  44,  49. 

Garcia  ab  Horto,  23,  48,  66. 

Garnet,  66. 

Geerts,  5,  21,  27,  51,  52. 

Geiger,  W.,  31. 

Girdle-ornaments,  set  with  diamond,  40. 

Glass,  not  cut  with  diamond-points  by 
ancient  Chinese  or  by  Greeks  and 
Romans,  28;  used  for  diamond  imi- 
tations in  India,  41. 

Gold,  associated  with  the  diamond  by 
the  Chinese  in  consequence  of  classi- 
cal tradition,  35-38. 

Greek  tales  in  China,  59,  60. 

Grube,  W.,  56. 

Guthe,  J.  M.,  57. 

Hair-spangles,  set  with  diamond,  40. 

Hanbury,  D.,  21. 

Heart,  compared  with  diamond,  18. 

d'Herbelot,  57,  63. 

Herodotus,  15,  53,  57,  59. 

Hirth,  F.,  7,  8,  21,  29,  30,  33,  40,  55,  57, 

58,  60,  61,  70. 
Horapollo,  9. 

Hormuz,  diamonds  from,  54. 
Huai-nan-tse,  56,  60,  67. 
Huan  chung  ki,  25,  30,  32,  34,  53,  70. 
Huan  Tsang,  on  Diamond-Seat,  17;  on 

ruby,  62. 
Huet,  G.,  20. 
Humboldt,  A.  von,  36. 
Hyacinth,  9,  14  note  4,  21,  41,  64. 

Ichneumon,  7  note  4. 

Imitation  diamonds,  41-42. 

India,  history  of  diamond  in,  16-18; 
legend  of  Diamond  Valley  in,  19; 
diamonds  from,  imported  into  Roman 
Orient,  Fu-nan,  and  Kiao-chi,  22,  45; 
eight  sites  where  diamond  was  found, 
22;  diamonds  of,  known  to  Chinese  in 
third  century,  35,  36;  imitation  dia- 
monds in,  41 ;  diamonds  of,  known  to 
the  ancients,  44;  diamond-rings  from, 
54;  astrion  of,  57. 

Iran,  diamond  known  in,  53. 

Iron,  does  not  affect  diamond,  21,  23; 
diamond  turns  into,  29;  diamond- 
points  enclosed  in,  31;  association  of 
diamond  with,  32. 

Isidorus,  16. 

Jade,  wrought  with  diamond-points,  28, 
31. 


Java,  diamond  finger-rings  from,  53;  dag- 
gers and  krisses  set  with  diamondsin,  54 ; 
diamonds  from,  known  to  Chinese,  54. 

Keller,  O.,  on  eagle-stone,  9;  on  ram,  24. 

Kern,  H.,  7,  41,  69. 

Kiang  Yen,  40. 

Kin-kang,  has  double  meaning  "thunder- 
bolt" and  "diamond,"  17;  with  the 
meaning  "diamond,"  21,  30,  35;  ex- 
planation of  the  term,  37. 

King,  C.  W.,  24,  66. 

Ko  Hung,  21,  23,  36,  69. 

Kuang  chi,  70. 

Kubera,  7. 

Kun-wu,  28-33;  38-40. 

K'ung-ts'ung-tse,  40. 

Kunz,  G.  F.,  45,  63,  65. 

Kuo  I-kung,  70. 

Lacouperie,  T.  de,  56,  61. 

Lauchert,  F.,  10,  23,  24,  26,  63. 

Lead,  action  of,  on  diamond,  26. 

Leclerc,  L.,  9,  26,  32. 

Lenz,  H.  O.,  36,  45,  47,  62. 

Lessing,  47. 

Li  Kuei,  35. 

Li  Shi-chen,  12,  25,  27,  28,  29,  40,  52,  70. 

Li  Sun,  34. 

Liang  se  kung  tse  ki,  6,  14,  19,  20. 

Lie-tse,  28,  32,  36,  39. 

Lin-yi,  diamondrrings  from,  54. 

Lippmann,  E.  O.  von,  24,  36,  43. 

Liu-sha,  29,  30. 

Load-stone,  28,  67. 

Lucian,  58. 

Lychnis,  58,  59,  66. 

Magnetism,  of  precious  stones,  66-67. 

Makara,  22. 

Manicheans,  18. 

Manilius,  24,  43. 

Mansur,  26. 

Marbodus,  16,  50,  61. 

Marco  Polo,  11,  13,  18,  54. 

Marx,  A.,  59,  60. 

Megenberg,  K.  von,  32,  50,  61. 

Mely,  F.  de,  9,  24,  30,  31,  42,  59,  62. 

Milindapafiha,  16,  17. 

Mo  Ti,  56. 

Mu-nan,  a  gem,  70. 

Nan  chou  i  wu  chi,  34,  40,  69. 
Nan  Yue  chi,  62,  70. 
Narahari,  49. 
Nizaml,  n. 

Odoric  of  Pordenone,  62. 
Orphica,  59,  65. 
Osborne,  D.,  43. 

Pannier,  L.,  24,  50,  61. 
Parturition  stone,  9. 


Index 


75 


Pearls,  perforated  with  diamond-points, 
34;  luminous  at  night,  55-57,  59-6°. 
70-71. 

Pelliot,  P.,  on  Fu-lin,  8;  on  Chou  Mi, 
12;  on  kin-kang,  17;  18,  22,  30,  33, 
56,  70. 

Persia,  diamond  known  in,  under  Sas- 
sanians,  53. 

Philostratus,  9,  59,  62. 

Phosphorescence,  of  precious  stones, 
63-71;  of  animal  organs,  19,  64,  69, 
70. 

Physiologus,  9,  23,  26,  45,  63. 

Pigmies,  gems  in  country  of,  55. 

Plato,  possibly  alluding  to  the  diamond, 
36. 

Pliny,  on  eagle-stone,  9;  on  callaina, 
15;  on  testing  of  diamond,  23;  on 
cenchros,  30;  on  diamond,  31,  36,  40, 
41,  42,  43-46;  on  astrion,  57;  on 
lychnis,  58;  on  magnetic  property  of 
lychnis  and  diamond,  66. 

Po-lo-ki,  diamonds  from,  62. 

Porcelain,  wrought  with  diamond-points, 
28. 

Portuguese,  introduced  diamond-cut- 
ting into  India,  48;  of  Macao,  intro- 
duced the  Chinese  to  cut  diamonds,  50. 

Prester  John,  letter  of,  38,  61. 

Ptolemy,  on  diamonds  of  India,  44. 

Qazwlnl,  It,  13,  28,  37,  41. 

Ram's  horn,  in  Chinese  opinion,  de- 
stroys diamond,  22;  corresponds  to 
ram's  blood  of  the  ancients,  23-26,  38. 

Ratnaparlksha,  49. 

Ray,  65. 

Razi,  9. 

Rings,  set  with  diamonds,  6,  34,  40,  53. 

Rock-crystal,  properties  of,  ascribed 
to  diamond,  31;  served  for  imitation 
diamonds  in  India,  41;  passed  as  dia- 
mond in  Europe,  46. 

Rockhill,  W.  W.,  54. 

Rohde,  E.,  11,  15. 

Ruby,  26,  32,  50,  60,  62. 

Ruska,  J.,  9,  io,  11,  12,  23,  31,  37,  41, 
51,  65. 

Scaliger,  J.  C,  14. 
Se-ma  Piao,  39. 
Se-ma  Siang-ju,  38. 
Se-ma  Ts'ien,  56. 
Seal,  of  diamond,  33. 
Shamir,  12  note  I. 


Shan-tung,  diamonds  found  in,  5  note  2. 

Shi  chou  ki,  29,  32. 

Si-wang-mu,  33. 

Sindbad,  11,  28. 

Smaragdos,  57,  58. 

Smith,  F.  P.,  21,  29,  50. 

S6keland,  H.,  49,  50. 

Solomon,  12,  33. 

Stalactites,  21. 

Strabo,  24,  44. 

Su  Shi,  31. 

Sung  Lien,  63. 

Sung  Ying-sing,  71. 

Supparaka-jataka,  22. 

Susemihl,  F.,  60. 

Ta vernier,  48. 

Teeth  of  Buddha's  statue,  formed  by 

diamonds,  31. 
Theophrastus,  on  parturient  stones,  9; 

alludes  to  diamond,  24,  44;  on  ruby, 

60. 
Tlfashl,  13,  27. 
Tourmaline,  58,  61. 
Ts'ao  Chao,  15. 
Tsin  k'i  ku  chu,  35. 
Tu  Ku-t'ao,  27. 
Tu  Wan,  21. 
Tu  Yu,  55. 
Tun-huang,  35,  36. 
Tung-fang  So,  29. 
Tzetzes,  14. 

Ural,  diamonds  of,  36,  37,  53. 

Vajra,  16,  53. 
Vajrasana,  17. 
Varahamihira,  17,  41,  69. 
Visser  de,  68,  70. 

Wang  Ch'ung,  67. 

Watt,  G.,  16. 

Whale-eyes,  employed  as  pearls,  68,  69. 

Wiedemann,  E.,  27,  34,  41. 

Will-o'-the-wisp,  67,  68. 

Winnefeld,  H.,  25. 

Wishing- jewel,  22,  69. 

Wonders  of  India,  Arabic  book  of,  II. 

Yang  Shfin,  70. 
Yu  Huan,  56. 
Yuan  Chen,  34. 
Yule,  H.,  15. 

Zachariae,  T.,  12. 
Zarncke,  F.,  14,  38,  61. 


